Growing Up
by DoubleKK
Summary: One thing he had yelled at me was true; we definitely weren't eight years old anymore. And I knew now that we both had some growing up to do. MaSt.
1. Let the Horrors Begin

**Growing Up**

DoubleKK

**A/N: I know I said I wasn't going to write this. I don't know how many times I insisted it would be overkill. But, alas, here it is. A semi-full-length story about the lovable May and Stu. ^-^**

**For those of you who haven't read my previous stories on these two, I strongly suggest you go and read Sweet Sixteen and Mistletoe, in that order. Some of this may not make sense to you if you haven't.**

**So, go read those if you haven't already ...everyone else – Onwards!**

Sometimes, I just hate my life.

Okay, so that's a lie. I know, I know – I express hate for my life all the time. Daily, even. But I don't, you know, hate it _entirely._ It's not like I'm suicidal, or anything. But there are aspects of my life that basically just, well, _suck. _And I'd give just about anything to change them.

My appearance, for example. Now, I'm not hideous, but I don't exactly fall under the beauty category. I have to be the most boring looking person on the planet. Seriously. I have black hair and brown eyes – how exciting! – with no unique features what so ever. You know, like a beauty mark or really bright eyes or something. I'm kinda tall, resulting in long legs, but that's about it. I'm not saying I wish I looked like a supermodel or anything. But something interesting would be nice.

And then there's family. You don't even know the half of how screwed up we are. First off, I don't even _know _who my dad is, let alone met him. And my oh-so-kind mother left me at her dad's house when I was eight to go deal drugs in the city. (Okay, so I don't know for sure whether she is actually a dealer, but that's my theory) Now, my grandpa, he's alright. Even though he's completely ancient, he still takes care of me and all that. Just a typical grandfather – but he's one of the two things that keep me from going completely insane.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I live on a practically deserted island with a population of about thirty? Yeah. Well, that's kind of important. Because it's basically what tops off the barrel of lame-ness that is my life.

But the other thing that keeps me from insanity is Stu. As you might have figured out, he's a guy – but it's actually kinda difficult for me to find words to describe him. I'll give it my best shot. Well, first off – he's totally gorgeous. Unfortunately, but also fortunately, it's in that total pretty-boy way too. Tall, built, dark hair and amazing gray eyes...makes for that conventional, boy-next-door look.

Not that I'm complaining.

Personality wise, he's pretty sweet. He attempts to be funny – and I stress on the word _attempts _– sometimes, though rarely succeeding. He's definitely kind though, and pretty patient considering he's got someone who can be as bitchy as me for a girlfriend.

Hey, I'm not saying Stu's perfect; he's not. There are times when I absolutely want to strangle him, he's so annoying... plus, he hates confrontation. So whenever he and I have a little spat, he runs and hides like the little eight year old inside he really is.

Though I can't blame him sometimes, I guess. I tend to get...loud during arguments. And occasionally violent. But he's still a wimp at heart,

Yeah. So now that you know my life situation, you can probably understand why it sucks so much. Or maybe not, I guess – some of you might be thinking, "Why is she so emo when she's got a totally hot boyfriend?" But you know what? The two who keep me sane can also drive me completely mental.

Story of my life.

Sorta.

---

It all started on a completely normal day.

Alright, so normal for me is probably different from your normal. As I mentioned before, the island I live on is pretty much dead, making entertainment options very limited. I mean, there is basically NOTHING to do here; so my day usually consists of this: Get up, get dressed, feed the cows, sit on my ass for five hours in front of the T.V., then maybe go hang out with Stu. We do, thankfully, have cable television here. That stupid digital box is basically my life source.

Anyways. It was during my couch potato part of the day when the horrors began. Was half way through an old Friends rerun when Grandpa started a completely random conversation. Sounds normal, right? Wrong.

"May, sweetie, can you come here for a second?"

I refused at first – this was one of my favourite episodes, the one with all the thanksgiving flashbacks – but he just did was he always does when I'm glued to my life source. He turned it off.

I got up, unwillingly, of course, to go and see what was so important. Grandpa was at the kitchen table, flipping through a catalogue. Here in Mineral Town, we basically survive off of catalogues. They are how I got my beloved cable box, most of my clothes, and anything else not available here. Which is pretty much everything.

Anyways, at first the page was turned to a selection of women's blue jeans. And I thought, yeah, I need a new pair of jeans. But that didn't justify him turning off the T.V. on me. I was about to point to a pair I liked when Grandpa suddenly turned the page to display of wedding dresses.

I kid you not. _Wedding dresses._

I just stared at the page blankly, more confused than anything. Why exactly was he showing me this? I barely noticed that he has started talking. "Now, I know that Ellen and Lillia usually make the dresses for the ladies here, but I thought that you might like something more contemporary for your wedding. I like this one, it would flatter your tall frame...what do you say, sweetie?"

I swear, I nearly had a heart attack right then and there. "My WHAT?!"

"Your wedding, of course."

I seriously could not believe what I was hearing. And you'd think Grandpa would try more to explain this to me, considering I was reacting as if he told me the house was about to explode. But nooo, he just kept on smiling at me like it was completely normal to be talking about wedding plans. "But...when...I...who?" I was having trouble forming a coherent sentence; mostly just choking out a few words and curses that make Grandpa scowl.

You know when someone's trying to tell you something that you don't want to believe, and you understand but you don't _really _understand? Actually, scratch that. It makes no sense. Let me try again; it's as if your brain is trying to reject the information. That is how I felt right then. When I finally managed to get out another phrase that actually made sense, it ended up being, "But WHEN? And WHO?"

Grandpa gave me a look that was almost pitying. "Why, Stu of course. Who else would marry you?" Ouch. "And you must have been planning on getting married soon, even if he hasn't proposed yet."

The word 'proposed' sent me into another mini-fit. I know it sounds like I was over reacting. But what would you do if you were a teenager and your family started talking about marriage out of nowhere? Okay, maybe you wouldn't freak out as badly as me, but still. This conversation was scaring the crap out of me. The next thing I yelled was, "I'm seventeen!"

And, I might add, barely seventeen. There must be some kind of law against this.

"I was eighteen when I married your Grandmother." said Grandpa, still in that maddeningly casual way. Yeah, Grandpa, but that was ten million years ago. It's the twenty first century, come on! "And I hadn't even known her nearly as long as you've known Stu. Surely, May, this can't be that much of a shock to you."

I gaped at him, most definitely showing that this statement was far from true. Okay, I'll admit; I have thought about marriage before. But that's completely normal, isn't it?! Every girl dreams about her future husband, having kids and all that shit. But all of this was set years in the future, like when I'm twenty five or something. NOT now.

Again, I was barely listening as he went on about how all women in Mineral Town married young. See, this is another crappy thing about living in this town; it's like everyone is stuck in the pioneer days. "And Elli and the Doctor got married, you know, when Elli was only twenty. Yes, I know May, you are seventeen. Don't give me that look. All I'm saying is that it's best to start planning early. I suspect your wedding will be sometime next year, maybe in Autumn... Oh, wouldn't it be nice to have it when all the leaves are pretty colours? Yes, that would be lovely..."

I repeat; Sometimes, I just hate my life.

But it gets worse.

**A/N: So there you have it. Sorry if it was a little short, and when I was checking it over it kinda felt like it was dragging on, so sorry for that... but this is just the intro. I will hopefully add some drama and eventually fluff in the future. Just a forewarning, this is not gonna be that long of a story. So far, the plan is only seven chapters long. But I hope to make the length satisfactory. ^-^**

**Oh yes, and a special thanks to HmGirly, aka Hannah, for sending me a random PM that motivated me to finish this chap. Thanks daaahling!**

**Expect chapter two sometime after spring break. Our break is next week, here in Canada.**

**KK**


	2. The Creepy Dark Cloud

**Growing Up**

DoubleKK

**A/N: Okay, ze second chapter is here! Has it really been almost a month? Hmm. This was originally supposed to be a lot longer, but I decided the story was moving too fast and cut a scene. So you will find out Stu's thoughts on marriage **_**next**_** chapter. =)**

So, I didn't think anything could top the crappy day I had yesterday, with the whole 'pressure on marrying young thing.' But what do you know, something did. Except it was ten billion times worse.

Ellen died.

I know! Doesn't that make all my whining and complaining sound completely petty? I mean, she _died. _Okay, so it wasn't as tragic as you may think. Ellen is – excuse, was – Stu's grandma, and she was old. And when I say old, I mean really old. Like, born before T.V. old. Plus she had something wrong with her legs, so she only ever left the house to go to the clinic for x-rays or whatever. So all she did all day was sit in her rocking chair and knit.

That would be such a boring life. I mean, just knitting, _all day_. I hope I don't end up like that when I'm as ancient as Ellen. I might just have to kill myself.

Not that is what Ellen did! Wow, that sounded terrible. I take it back. She actually died in her sleep, which is how I wanna go. Quick, painless. It'd be, you know. Peaceful.

Anyway. I was just eating lunch the day after my our little marriage chat when Grandpa came in. He was looking all sombre, so I realized that he wasn't about to nag me for not brushing all the cows. That's when he told me. Now, I'm not gonna lie to you. It wasn't if this was this whole shocking ordeal; as I said before, Ellen was ready to croak any day now. But I still felt a little wave of loss just the same. Ellen had been like my own grandmother. She would always make me and Stu stockings at Christmas and tell us stories when we were little...

Thinking about all of this made me realize how Stu must be feeling, considering she actually _was_ his grandma. I ended up deciding to go over there to check on him and his family.

It was worse than I expected. It was like walking into this creepy dark crowd of mourning as soon as I entered. All of Ellen's family was gathered in the living room, except her, of course. (I shuddered to think of who had to move her body.) It felt weird to see her rocking chair unoccupied. Elli was sitting on the couch, crying silently on to her husband's shoulder. The kids were unusually quiet, sitting at the feet of their parents – but Kyle still had something in his mouth, so I wasn't too worried – and Stu was on the other couch, staring blankly at the empty chair.

The emotionless look on his face made me feel uneasy. I don't think anyone even noticed me come in; I never knock anyway. Even Leah, who is extremely clingy, didn't acknowledge me. I walked over and sat next to Stu on the couch tentatively, unsure of what to say. I started dumbly with, "You okay?"

Yeah, May. He's gonna be all fine and dandy after a member of his family died.

He didn't say anything, as I expected. Stu usually gets really quiet when he's upset. Any other day I would have just done something annoying to get his attention, like poked his cheek or blew in his ear or something, but I wasn't stupid enough to try something like that now when the mood was all depressing. So I just sat there, patiently waiting for someone to notice I had imposed on their little grieving party.

I was starting to feel extremely awkward, so I was thankful when Tim finally realized there was another person in the room. "Hello, May." He said quietly, causing his wife to look up in surprise. "Oh, May!" she said, looking sheepish for having ignored me for the last five minutes. "When did you get here?"

I shrugged, not wanting to make her feel guiltily. "Not that long. I'm...I'm sorry for your loss."

Elli gave me a tearful smile. "Thank you, May, we all are. Stu?" he didn't react, but she didn't seem to care. "Why don't you and may go take or walk or something. Get some fresh air."

Still no response. Feeling just the tiniest bit agitated now, I pulled on Stu's arm until he stood, then guided him out the front door. I know he was sad and all, but come on man. You could at least nod, or do _something _when someone's talking to you.

Once outside, we started walking down the path in no particular direction, but I knew where we'd end up. The silence was starting to make me uncomfortable again. So halfway to our destination, I tried once more to snap him out of his stone face demeanour. "Dude. Talk to me."

Nothing. Okay, now I was getting even more agitated. After a few more spoken and failed attempts, I decided to go back to my annoying method. I poked him in the ribs with a loud, "Stu!"

Finally, he looked at me. Well, it was only for a millisecond and he didn't break the stone face. But he did say something, so quiet I could barely hear him. "I can't believe she's...gone."

I stared at him for a moment. _Really...? _Okay, I know, that kinda sounds insensitive. But seriously. Ellen was a crippled old lady who sat in a rocking chair all day. Was it really so surprising for him? I refrained from saying any of this to Stu, continuing to walk in silence. It was a few more minutes before we reached where we had both automatically headed for; the Goddess Pond.

Still holding on to Stu's arm, I steered him over to where we usually sat, just in front of the waterfall. Thankfully, I didn't have to prompt him to talk again. As soon as we sat down, he said, just as quietly as before, "I feel... like I'm an orphan all over again."

That, I was not expecting.

I should probably explain something about Stu's parents; you see, both of them died when we were about three. They both had some kind of illness, I'm not sure exactly what it was – but it wiped them both out after Stu was barely walking. So, both him and Elli had been raised by Ellen since then. I figure it must have hit Elli pretty hard, considering she was nearly fifteen when they died. Stu doesn't even remember them, and I don't think we have ever really talked about it.

That _really _makes me sound like a whiner, doesn't it? I mean, Stu lost _both _of his parents before he even knew them. And mom is still perfectly alive, even though she's not here and constantly makes me hate her guts. I have no way of knowing whether or not my dad is alive, but still. I think my current parenting situation is slightly better, considering Stu just lost Ellen as well.

That just made me feel even worse. He was right; it was like he was an orphan again. I was still silent as my conscience gave my insides a good kicking. I was doing my best to comfort Stu through touch, still holding his arm and tracing circles on his hand. Whether this was helping or not, he didn't show it. The silence was broken by him yet again. "I have nobody left, May."

"That's not true." I said, somewhat indignantly. "You have your sister. And a brother in law, with a niece and nephew..." But I don't think they really count. I know _I_ would want to have them. "And you have me, of course."

I looked up to see how Stu was reacting to this, and was horrified to see tears streaming down his face. I have to tell you, this absolutely broke my heart. Now, it's not like I've never seen Stu cry before; I have, many times. Whether it was from him stubbing his toe or me throwing sand in his eyes, his tears were no stranger to me. But those had all been from physical pain. And there wasn't much I could to help heal these wounds.

This caused tears to spring to my own eyes. I knew I had no right to be crying; I didn't nearly have as much grief over Ellen as I should have. So I wiped them away, and tried my best to stay strong for the person next to me.

"I'm sorry, Stu."

---

Everyone in town came to her funeral.

I mean, we all knew Ellen. She was like...a grandma to the whole village. I wasn't surprised to see the church packed with people coming to say their final words to her. One thing I noticed, though; not one person seemed nearly devastated as Stu. They all had their quiet sorrow, like me. I even noticed that Popuri was wearing this newish-looking black dress that I had seen her get in the mail last year. (We are neighbours, after all. Unfortunately.) It was like people were ready for her funeral any day now.

It seems I'm not the only petty one in this town.

Anyway, the funeral itself was alright. Carter gave a nice but completely boring speech that had me falling asleep. I actually had to be prodded awake by Grandpa. Many got up to thank Ellen for helping them with their wedding dresses and such, (Claire, Ann, and Mary) or how she would help them to cook for a big party (Doug and Sasha.) But what surprised me the most was when Saibara got up and said that Ellen used to be a _dancer_. A dancer! Who knew?

Stu didn't get up to say anything, which I found strange. He just sat with his family, back to the stone faced manner he had been when he first found out about Ellen. As far as I knew, he hadn't said a word since that day at the Goddess Pond, and that was two days ago. He became silent immediately after he noticed I saw him crying. If I'm being honest, I think he's over reacting the teensiest tiniest little bit. But I guess I can't know how he's feeling. This is the third member of his immediate family he's lost...

Okay, I take it back. I guess he's not over reacting, forget I said anything.

Anyway, the last person to speak was Leah. Seriously. At first I thought she was going to hug her mom as she came down the steps after talking for a bit. But she remained on the platform, looking out to the rest of the church with a sad look on her face. I heard a few "awes" from the audience.

They obviously have not witnessed Leah's true self.

But the funny thing is, she even had _me_ totally convinced with what she said about Ellen. I mean, yeah, she already looked adorable with her little black dress on. Despite being evil, Leah is still a pretty cute kid. But what she said really had me going there for a minute. She stood there looking sad for a couple of seconds, then looked at every one and said, in a really depressed voice,

"I really miss Great-Grandma Ellen. I always thought she would be here forever, sitting her chair and making clothes. I'm wearing the socks she made me, see?" At this, Leah lifted up her leg to show the woolly socks peeking over the tops of her dress shoes. "Aren't they nice? See, Great-Grandma was super nice. And nice people go live in heaven, right? So have fun in heaven, grandma." She said, looking up to the ceiling. "Say hi to Jesus for me."

I swear, I heard a few sniffles coming from various directions. I'll admit, I was almost tearing up a little bit. But then she did something that completely ruined the cuteness and sincerity, and that was such a total Leah move. She _bowed._

I'm not even kidding. It was like the whole thing was an act, put on to fool everyone that she was the sweetest little girl in the world. Ugh.

The funeral ended with a few of the men – Stu included – lifting up the casket and bringing it out to the freshly dug grave. Then it was over, everyone filing out of the churchyard, talking quietly as if they were going to disturb the people beneath the headstones. I walked over to Stu, who was brushing off his hands from putting the coffin in the ground.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" I asked, already knowing the response.

As predicted, Stu said nothing.

**A/N: Okay, that was absolutely no fun to write. I practically had to force myself to type it up, because I kept getting depressed for torturing Stu, so it might have seemed a little rushed. Oh well. It had to be done to progress the story, and because I shortened this, I get to add a humorous scene next chapter. =D Well, hopefully you guys will find it humorous.**

**Also, did anyone catch that it said Mary had a wedding dress, even though it's already been said that Gray is married to Claire? Hmm, what a mystery. XD We shall find out who the lucky guy is in...chapter four, I believe.**

**Oh, and one last note: just for reference, Leah's name is pronounced LAY-ah, not LEE-ah. **

**Ta ta for now!**

**KK**


	3. Hysteria

**Growing Up**

DoubleKK

**A/N: Yeah...so it's been awhile. I don't really have an excuse other than that I'm lazy. **

**Just a forewarning; Ann's obsession with musicals is totally projected from myself. Also her use of the word "Eh." Anyways. Enjoy!**

This went on for four more days.

Stu completely ignoring me, I mean. Everyone else had pretty much moved on since the funeral and went back to their normal lives. But nooo, not Stu. He sulked in his room, completely cutting off all human contact. It was starting to annoy me. Because of this, I was stuck with Grandpa. _All day. _Well, there's nothing wrong with my grandpa. It's just he can be so....boring. He forced to go on errands and visit people in town to keep me busy. These are the kinds of things we did during the Incident, and I absolutely hated it.

On the fourth day of my agony, Grandpa thankfully decided to take me to the Inn for dinner. This is didn't mind, because the Inn had great food and it meant that I could talk to Ann, the barmaid there.

That's what I decided to do when we got there. Talk to Ann, I mean. She usually gives me great advice. I had just about enough of Grandpa at this point. I waited until we sat down and ordered, (chicken for Grandpa, lasagne for me) then I casually tried to slip away.

"Grandpa?" He didn't hear me the first time; I think his ears must be getting old. "Grandpa." I said, quite a bit louder this time. He finally heard me. "Hmm?"

"I'm gonna go sit at the bar, okay?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm bored as hell..." I muttered, knowing he wouldn't hear me.

"What?"

"I'M TALKING TO ANN."

"Oh, okay." He frowned. "Just don't order anything to drink, okay sweetie?"

I waited until my back was turned to roll my eyes. To further my embarrassment, once I had taken a seat on my favourite stool, he yelled out, (in front of everyone, if I may add) "Don't give her any alcohol, okay Ann?"

Ann, who had been making her way over to where I was sitting, just laughed and replied, "Don't worry, Barley." I put my head in my hands in humiliation. When she had reached me, the waitress leaned over and whispered, "I can give you a little bit if you want."

I looked at her hopefully. "Could you?"

She looked surprised. I couldn't blame her, considering I had never asked for a drink before, mostly because I didn't really like it. But I knew that a lot of people drank when they had problems, and I had a whole lot of those. "Okay. Ha ha. What's up?"

"I'm serious, Ann. What do you have that tastes half decent?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I was joking. You're not getting a drop." Ann said disapprovingly. "What's bothering you so much that you want to drink?"

Not bothering answering, I noticed a half empty glass of beer sitting in front of the stool next to me. Feeling bold, I reached for the glass and downed it. Ann looked horrified.

"May!" It tasted disgusting, but I liked the warm, almost painful feeling it brought to my insides. "That stuff sucks." I said, putting the now empty glass back. "Who's was it anyway?"

"Ricks." Ann said, still looking shocked at my sudden act of theft. "He went to the bathroom."

"Good. Rick's a wuss."

"You'd be surprised. Now seriously, May. What is _with_ you?"

I slammed my head down on the bar, already feeling the ache that even a little bit of alcohol brought to my brain. From the few times I've tried it, I knew that I most definitely cannot hold my liquor. "I'm having the worst week in the history of the world."

Ann chuckled. "I've heard that one before."

"I'm serious this time. Nothing could ever top this week of hell."

"What? Is it because of Ellen?"

"Not just that. But that's part of it." _Ha. That's not even the half of it._ A sudden thought struck me. "Ann? How old were you...when you got married?" She looked surprised, but answered anyway. "Um... I was 23, I believe. Why do you ask?"

"Because, according to my Grandpa, I should be getting hitched any day now." I said, shooting a dirty look in his direction. Thankfully, he was talking to Basil at the next table, so he didn't notice. "Really? And you're...what? Seventeen?" I nodded. She let out a low whistle. "That's pretty young, even for Mineral Town."

"I know, right? What the hell am I supposed to say to him?"

"To who, Stu or Barley?"

Her mentioning of Stu caused me to slam my head back down on the table again. I regretted it immediately. "Take it easy, May." Ann said, sounding worried for my mental health. I know I was. "For the last time, what is the _matter_ with you?

So I told her, as usual, letting it all spill out if my mouth with no prior thought. I used quite a few, "And then he was all," and curse words in my little spiel. I finally finished with, "And now Grandpa is making me go have tea with Sasha and pick up milk with him and stuff. _Every day._"

To my dismay, all the waitress did after this was chuckle. "Man," she said, looking much too amused for me having just told her of the week of hell. "The problems you are coming to me with these days. First sex, now marriage..." I gave her the best evil glare I could manage; its must not have been very scary, considering Ann just kept on smiling at me. "Time flies, eh?"

"No, it does not." I snapped, thinking of how long these last four days had seemed. I folded my arms across my chest and sighed heavily. Ann was obviously not trying to sympathize with me, considering she just laughed again, and thought this would be a fantastic time for a song. "_Times flies, time....DIIIIES!_"

Let me tell you, Ann's no singer. Even with my shallow musical knowledge I could tell this was supposed to be some sort of power note. Ann, unfortunately, sounded like she was screaming in pain. A few of the drunkards raised their hands to their heads and glared at her. But no one really seemed surprised, because her off key singing was sadly a regular occurrence.

"What. The hell."

"Rent." Was Ann's amused response, not caring that her screeching had increased the pain in my head. Damn that waitress and her love of show tunes. "Look. Do you have any advice for me or not?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, let's see..." She snapped her fingers a few times, and then said. "Here's a question; what would you do if Stu asked you to marry him. Let's say, tomorrow.

"That's not advice." I said dryly, but her question stumped me. What _would_ I do if this thing I was freaking out about could happen as soon as...tomorrow? I closed my eyes and tried to picture it. Stu, down on one knee holding a blue feather...

Truthfully? The image had me wanting to run screaming from the room.

This must have been reflecting on my face, because Ann finally seemed to attempt to sympathize with me. "Not ready, huh?" I didn't think this required a response; I just kept my eyes closed and tipped my head back, letting the light burn my lids. Ann's simple question had sent ten million thoughts bouncing around my head, all wanting to be heard. _ Do you wanna marry him? Is he the "one"? You've never even kissed another guy before. What are you gonna do with your life?_

These questions seemed to have taken on the voices of people in my life; and let me tell you, it wasn't so pleasant having your neighbours screaming randomly in your head. The most annoying voice happened to be the sweet yet evil tone of Leah. _Are you and Uncle Stu sleeping together? Why not? Huh?_

_This hearing voices stuff is only supposed to happen on T.V., damnit! _"Shut up!" I growled at them. Ann raised an eyebrow, and I quickly tried to correct myself, "No! Not you. It's...my....Leah!"

Oh man. Just ship me off to the loony bin already.

"I hate my life."

"Of course you do, May." Ann said, sighing as she filled a glass with water and placed it in front of me. "What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Nothing." Sure didn't sound like nothing. "Okay, forget being proposed to tomorrow. Can you picture yourself being married to Stu at any point in your life?"

"I...I don't know." I admitted. That was only half true. I mean, I said that I pictured my wedding like any other girl... and it's almost always the same guy as the groom. Not a hard guess. But all the redhead's questions seemed to be doing was confusing me more. "I mean, I love him, but..."

At this, her eyebrows shot way up mid sentence. I stared at her for a minute, wondering why she had that stupid look on her face. Then it sunk in. I slapped my hand over my mouth, horrified at what I had just admitted.

"Oh, so you do love him?" Ann said, smirking knowingly. I glared at her. "Shut. Up."

"_A heart full of love, a heart full of song, I'm doing everything all wrong! Oh-_"

"Ann! Shut up!" I snapped, now thoroughly pissed off that she was mocking my accidental confession. "I...I haven't even told him myself, okay? Just... don't."

Luckily, the waitress seemed to get the hint that this was not to be joked about. And most definitely not sung about. There was a moment of silence in which I calmed myself down, and Ann perked right back up. "Kay," she said, propping her chin up on her fist. "If Stu knew that you expected to get married, what would he think?"

Arrgh. What is with all these impossible questions? "How am I supposed to know that?" I asked flatly. She shrugged and just looked at me expectantly. I sighed, and tried to think really hard on this one. Luckily, the voices did not return to attack me. "He'd...probably think it was funny?" I thought aloud.

But...would he? Sure, Stu is a pretty happy-go-lucky guy most of the time at least. He likes to tease me, so I'm guessing that's what he would with this too, if I knew I was freaking out so much...

Wait. He wasn't exactly all happy-go-lucky right now, was he? Ugh.

"I don't know anymore." I said, slamming my head down on the table for the umpteenth time. "He's decided to go all emo now, so I have no clue how he'd react. Probably go slit his wrists." I added maliciously, and instantly regretting it. _Wow. I'm a horrible person._

"Now May, you shouldn't talk like that." Ann said, frowning disapprovingly. Translation; stop being a bitch. "You know what I think your problem is? You worry too much." She was joking now, I could tell. But I wasn't really in the mood for jokes. "You just have to _chill._ You know... Hakuna Matata?"

And I definitely wasn't in the mood for more singing.

Okay, I know nothing can justify what I said next. I mean, Ann was only trying to help. But honestly. My head was already hurting from my unwise alcohol consumption and from slamming my head down on the counter. Not to mention her previous singing and "advice" was doing nothing to help me cope with the week of hell. So as soon as Ann opened her mouth to screech out this next song, I ended up involuntarily spazzing.

"No, Ann! No more singing! I can't take it anymore. What is it with you and _stupid_ show tunes, anyway? It's so incredibly annoying, it's not even funny!"

Yeah. So I regretted these harsh words immediately after they came out of my huge mouth. I could tell I had hurt her feelings, which made feel like kicking myself. I half expected the feisty waitress to tell me off like the little brat I was being, but instead she got real quiet.

"...Ann?"

The redhead pretended she hadn't heard me, instead concentrating on Rick's empty beer mug, which she was now cleaning. _Say something, please..._ When she finally spoke, it was so quiet I had to lean forward to hear. "My mom... used to love musicals."

...Damnit.

I always manage to say the _exact _wrong thing, don't I?

I spent a few moments mentally shooting myself, hoping she would continue. She did. "My mom would always play her tapes real loud and sing along with them. She was a great singer. I grew up with this music. And after she died, I made sure to order any new Broadway soundtracks, because I knew she loved them." She gave a weak smile. "I know I can't really sing, so I'll stop now."

"...Wow." Was I all I could say in response. "I...really am a bitch."

"Oh, May." She responded, chuckling softly. "You're just young, that's all. And really quite headstrong."

These words did nothing to comfort me. I kept wishing a hole in the ground would appear and swallow me. It was like I was just realizing Ann's mother was dead, like both of Stu's parents. And all I ever did was complain about my perfectly _alive_ mom. "I'm sorry, Ann."

"Aw, don't worry about it." She replied, all traces of hurt gone from her face. I noticed that she never managed to stay upset for long. "May... I know you're struggling with your 'emotions.' I'm guessing that's probably because you feel trapped here. But honestly...talk to Stu. You can't hide how you feel about this. Cause it's only gonna get worse."

Oh, fantastic.

I didn't say anything, because I was still trying to shake off my feelings of self disgust. But I still tried to consider the little bit of advice I had gotten from the waitress. _Well I tried talking to him, and he barely acknowledged me. All I've been getting are grunts and stone-faced looks..._

Ann's voice interrupted my thoughts. She must have noticed how troubled I looked, because she smiled and said, "Hey. Cheer up. You'll be fine, kid."

I couldn't help doubting these words.

"Shit..." Ann muttered, her gaze now focused on something over my shoulder. "You might wanna leave, May. Look who's coming back from his little expedition."

I turned around to see Rick returning from his bathroom break. Remembering that I had recently downed his beer, I hastily got up. "Thanks, Ann."

"Hey, no problem." She replied, giving me a sort of half wave, half salute gesture. "What was he doing in there, anyway?" she muttered, mostly to herself.

I bit back a smile as I headed back to where Grandpa was sitting. Though that conversation had caused me more grief than help, I appreciated her attempts. Now, if I could only get that boy to open his damn mouth...

"What the-? Ann, where's my drink?"

"What? Oh, sorry Rick. It must have evaporated while you were in the bathroom." She replied sweetly. "I'm not surprised, considering how long it took you. On that note, Rick. I understand that a man like you has needs. But if you're going to, uh, _pleasure_ yourself; I'd appreciate it if you didn't do it in our bathroom. I mean, come on man. Have some respect."

I laughed harder than I had in days.

---

I decided that I didn't want to endure another day with non-stop Grandpa, so the morning after my little chat with Ann, I skipped my T.V. portion of the day and headed out right after my chores. I hoped Stu would appreciate this. I was missing a _Jon and Kate Plus Eight_ marathon.

"Where are you going?"

I froze in the act of putting on my coat. Damnit. I was supposed to help him clean out the barn today. I was hoping I could leave with Grandpa noticing, but no such luck. "Um...the Parkers..."

Thankfully, Grandpa didn't seem to mind this excuse. Good thing, because it was true anyway. I usually did whatever I could to avoid cleaning out the barn. Yeah. Cleaning out manure and who-knows-what from the cow stalls? Not exactly my favourite chore. "Oh. Are you going to go comfort poor Stu? You run along, sweetie."

_Yes. No cow shit today!_

The walk was a short one. I realized that even though it was morning, it was a warm one, so I took off my coat. I felt strangely... content, walking down the cobblestone path alone. You know when you just kinda feel happy for no reason? That's how I felt. But I have no idea why. It might have been because I was tired, having barely slept at all last night. But why was I happy when I was about to try and go coax my depressed boyfriend into talking to me?

Whatever.

I let myself in, as usual. There was nobody downstairs. It suddenly occurred to me that Stu must be living alone now. His sister lived in the flat above the clinic with her family, so Ellen had been the only other occupant of the house. For some reason I couldn't grasp the idea of the house without the old woman. Trying to ignore the ghostly empty rocking chair; I ascended the stairs to the second floor.

Stu's door was shut. I figured there was no use breaking tradition and knocking, so I opened it myself. He was lying on the bed, looking as stone faced as ever. I was a little relieved I hadn't walked in on him cutting himself or something. Instead, he was just staring at the ceiling, doing absolutely nothing but wallowing in grief.

This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Hey," I said softly. _Okay, good. Start out kind and gentle; don't lose your temper, May._ I walked over and sat down on the edge of the bad, next to his torso. "What's new?"

I wasn't expecting Stu to say anything at all, and he did not disappoint. All I got was a nod. Apparently there was something highly interesting on the ceiling. I already knew talking wasn't gonna do anything. And being annoying, well, I didn't really wanna piss him off when I'm attempting to have a normal conversation with him. So I tried a new tactic. I leaned over and gave him a gentle, feather light kiss on the cheek.

Stu's eyelashes fluttered; and he broke out of the stone faced to give me and almost curious look. _Breakthrough! _I waited a few seconds, hoping he might say something. No luck. So I went in again, this time with a slightly longer kiss on the lips. Then, very softly, I heard, "May..."

Why did I not think of this tactic before? It certainly worked better than merely talking or annoying him into speaking. It was if Stu was breaking out of a trance or something. He sat up, looking dazed and confused. I frowned at him. "Are you done being Mr. Emo now?"

I was pushing my luck, I knew it. But Stu wasn't exactly my favourite person in the world at the moment. I mean, he pretended I hadn't existed for what, five days now? So I had the right to be a little bit ticked off. He blinked at me with those big gray eyes for a second, and then looked down at his lap._ Shit...here we go again..._ I tried taking a softer tone. "I was really worried about you, ya know."

"I'm...I'm really sorry." He responded quietly, but still not looking back up at me. "I've just been...thinking, a lot lately. I didn't mean to make you worry."

"How could I not worry?" I said, somewhat indignantly. He obviously had no idea what I have to go through when he and I aren't speaking. "What made you want to think so, um, intently?" I finished lamely.

"I've mostly been thinking about...the future. And us."

Oh no. Oh, hell no.

This must be karma, right? That's gotta be it. The universe decided to pay me back for being such a bitch all the time. Why else would Stu suddenly start considering the very thing that I've been mega-stressing about?

That's it. The world hates me.

I think I must have been in shock, because I barely heard what Stu was talking about next. "Because, you know, I'm kinda on my own now. I'm seventeen, and I'm gonna have to earn money somehow. I can't live off my sister. And you know, you and me..."

Suddenly, everything started to get _really _funny. And not in a good way. I don't know what it was. Maybe everything was just going so bad, I was getting hysterical. Maybe it was lack of sleep. Or maybe a blood vessel burst in my brain, I don't know. But suddenly I had started giggling, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Stu stopped mid sentence and gave me a questioning look. "And what is so funny?"

"I have no idea!" I said between snorts. Yes, snorting. How very attractive.

His facial expression turned from confusion to more of an, 'are-you-on-drugs' look. "Calm down, May." He said, placing a hand on my shoulder. But for some reason this only made me laugh harder. Being hysterical is kinda fun, except you have your common sense screaming at you from the back of your head. "...Are you okay?"

"Hmm. Am I okay? Well, right now I feel fantastic. But I don't think I'm okay." I replied, calming down just enough to speak. Thinking back, it probably would have been better if I kept laughing. Because what I said next was definitely not wise. "Let's see. I don't think I'm okay because my life sucks. So first, Ellen dies. Then you go all emo on me. Then I'm forced to spend the week of hell with Grandpa. And look at me now! I'm having a laughing fit for no reason! Oh, and did I mention that Grandpa seems to think we're gonna get married?"

At the end of this little spiel, I let out a hiccup. _Hmm. Is it possible I'm drunk? I don't think so, considering that beer I had last night hadn't even got me tipsy. What did I eat this morning? Or maybe being hysterical is the same as being drunk or something..._

It took me a while to notice Stu again. He was still sitting right next to me, a mixture of emotions on his face. One was definitely confusion. And I can assume that another would be horror at my freaky behaviour. I was to high off of who-knows-what do notice the other ones.

Oh yeah. And I kept going. Even though the screaming voice of common sense was pounding on my brain at this point, my mouth didn't seem to want to close. "Isn't that the stupidest thing you've ever heard? I mean, come on. Marriage? Ha!"

_Please Goddess, someone stop me._

I might have noticed, if I hadn't been trying to recover from my laugh attack, that Stu's eyes had clouded over. Not just from surprise at my little episode of hysteria here. No, I could tell he was mad. Thankfully, the voice of common sense had won over at this point, so I didn't say anything more. I just sat there with a stupid looking grin on my face.

"...What?"

Oh yeah. He was definitely pissed. I noticed this now as the smile slid off. "What do you mean, what?"

Honestly, I don't think he had the right to be angry with me. Okay, so I know I said marriage was stupid. But I didn't even mean that. He couldn't have though I was serious when I was laughing so hard? I don't know why I said it. I'm an idiot. I regretted it even more when he responded with, "I mean, _what the hell_. I never knew you thought getting married would be stupid."

Yup. Definitely karma.

_You've done it now, May._ I frowned, trying not to let the hysteria bubble up again. This was not going well. "Well, I don't mean marriage exactly, but-"

"Oh, so it's just getting married to me that would be stupid."

"No!" Oh goddess. This was _really_ not going well. Me and my big mouth. "It's just that...don't you think we're a little young? And...inexperienced?"

"What do you mean, inexperienced?" Stu asked angrily, standing up and running a hand through his hair in frustration. "What kind o experience do you want, anyway?"

"Well, I mean, come on, Stu. You are the only guy I've ever been with, and-"

Evidently, that was the wrong thing to say.

"Are you _freakin_ serious?!"

Yeah. And he didn't say freakin.

Okay, so I knew saying that was just going to make things worse anyway. But really? I think the only reason that came out of my over-sized mouth was because I didn't want to lose this argument. It's not that I actually wanted to date other guys. Stu was probably the one part of my life I was happy with. But the thought of marriage, being so tied down to someone, really scared me. And that's probably why that split second thought was what I said. I still wasn't exactly thinking clearly, since I was already in some kind of weird, almost drunken state.

Yeah. So now Stu wasn't just mad. He was _raging. _I'll admit, I was a little scared at this point. And I still didn't know why this was making him so angry. "Come on, Stu. You've never thought about dating other girls before? I mean...you could do better than me, you know..." I said meekly.

At this point, he was standing and I was still sitting, so his glaring down at me was freaking me out. "Oh my Goddess." He said, his voice so dangerously low I almost recoiled in fear. _Stand your ground, May, It's not like he's gonna hit you._

Instead, Stu turned around and slammed him fist down onto his desk, rattling the contents. I'll admit, I was a little surprised. I'd never seen him get violent when angry, even if it was _this_ furious.

Come to think of it, I don't think I'd ever seen him this mad before. Eeep.

"May," he said, staring down at the desk. I could tell he was trying to calm himself down. "You know how I said I was thinking about my future? Yeah, and the different jobs I told you I was considering. Yeah. That's all bullshit. Honestly? When I think about my future? All I really know is that _I want you in it."_

_...Wow. _I sat there, speechless. It took me a second to realize I was shaking. From what, I do not know. Finally, I said meekly, "...But why?"

"Why?" Oh shit. I made him angry again. "Because I love you, that's why! I. Love. You."

Now he had turned back and grabbed my shoulders, shaking them slightly with each word. I stared at him, unsure of whether I should be scared or happy. He certainly still looked pissed, but in his eyes was something different. ..._He loves me? _Before I could decide anything, Stu had let go of me and turned away again. "Forget it." He said, his voice back to normal now. "You know what? I think you're too immature to understand."

Ouch. That felt as if he'd slapped me across the face. I regained a bit of my confidence after recovering from the blow. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm not the one who's been sulking in my room for five days."

"Yeah, well, guess what. I grew up in those five days. This whole freakin thing has forced me to think about stuff I was never mature enough to think about before. And I think I've realized some things just now, too." Another slap. "We're not eight years old anymore, May."

"Well, no kidding." I snapped, folding my arms across my chest. I know. What a great way to show him I'm mature, by pouting. "And what makes you think that we have to get married, just because we're not kids anymore? That's so stupid."

Silence.

"Get out."

"...Excuse me?!"

"Get. Out."

The way Stu said it was like he couldn't stand to be around me anymore, like a parent telling off a child. This only infuriated me more. Not only that, but I felt tears well up my eyes. I felt so...wounded. So I rose up off the bed and stalked to the door. "Fine. You know what? I think maybe I should just _get out _of this whole stupid town. There's nothing here for me anymore." And finishing off with one last rude hand gesture, I stormed out and slammed the door behind me.

**A/N: Yeah...so this chapter wasn't that fun to write either. Except maybe the beginning. Kay, I promise it's going to lighten up slightly with an appearance from who could possibly be one of my most favourite characters ever...can you guess? Hopefully he'll bring some comic relief. Oh, and I have no idea if that's what it's like to be hysterical. I just kinda based May's freak-out off of this one time when I was so upset, I started laughing and couldn't stop. So yeah.**

**And I don't own any of the musicals/movie mentioned in this chapter. Or Jon and Kate Plus Eight. (though I love that show.) or even Harvest Moon for that matter. Till next chapter!**

**KK**


	4. Big Brother to the Rescue

**Growing Up**

DoubleKK

**A/N: Okay... this probably took longer than it should of. The truth is, I've been doing a lot more reading than writing lately. And the whole first half of my summer was taken up by musical theatre camp. BUT IT'S DONE NOW. It's also extremely sore-from-typing long.**

**Santa Rhea is a completely made up place. I have only been to California twice, so it's basically gonna be my home town with nicer weather and palm trees. Yep.**

_You're too immature to understand._

To say I was upset would be an understatement. No, not only was I upset; I was also furious, confused, depressed and nauseous. Oh, and did I mention it felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest? Yeah, that too.

_Get out._

His words shouldn't have been making me feel _this_ bad, right? I mean, no woman even _needs_ a man, of course. At least that's what they say on T.V. all the time. "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bike"... or something like that. So, technically, its completely unreasonable for me to be this hurt.

_You went for four years without him, May, you can handle this. _I thought as I stormed down the street, gradually slowing as I calmed myself down. I was blowing this out of proportion, I knew it, but of course, my mind automatically thought of the worst. _If it's over now, why are you even still here? There are other fish in the sea, you know. If you can just get out of this lame town._

_Yeah...yeah, you're right!_

See what I mean? Automatically to the worst. Even if it was a major one, this was still just a spat between me and Stu. It happened all the time. But this fight coupled with the marriage panic had pushed me over the edge.

_We're not eight years old anymore, May._

So one thing he had yelled at me was true. We definately weren't eight years old anymore. And I knew that we both had some growing up to do.

_Then do what he told you. Get out, see the world, and find a new guy._

This voice was unfamiliar to me; but it was deep and soothing, definitely a male's. If I could I would go back and smack it upside the head. I know I was being irrational; but it seemed the notion that had been in the back of my head for the last five years was now suddenly screaming in my ear. _Why the _hell_ am I still here?_

By the time I got home, my mind was made up. The mysterious guy voice had me convinced, and all the anger returned, now directed at anything that would keep me from _getting out. _I opened the door roughly and tore up the stairs. I had already grabbed a bag and was stuffing with anything I could get my hands on when Grandpa came up, confused.

"What on earth are you doing, May?"

"Leaving." I said simply, grabbing a random T-shirt from my dresser and stuffing it into my already crammed shoulder bag.

"Where are you going?"

Let me tell you, that stopped me mid shove. Where _was_ I going? Again, barely taking any time to think it through, I blurted out, "What's mom's address?"

This just caused Grandpa to look even more confused. I don't blame him. I have no clue where I pulled _that_ idea from. "May, what is going on?"

"I need Mom's address. I'm leaving Mineral Town." I said it so firmly, so sure of what I was doing that I surprised myself.

"But sweetie, why so sudden? If you wanted to go visit your mother, you could have just asked me." He said gently, as if he was handling a child in a tantrum

"I had a fight with Stu," I said, resuming my packing, a little less panicked than before. Grandpa's face changed, as if it all made sense now. I suspected I was about to receive a lecture, but I wasn't having that. "I really, _really_ need to get out of here, Grandpa. I believe I am experiencing an epiphany."

Yeah, that is what I said. Epiphany.

Ugh.

"May-"

"What is Mom's address."

Grandpa looked conflicted for a moment, but then decided there was no arguing with me in this crazed state. It surprised me that he was giving up so easy. But then he rattled off a street number and building, and where it was absolutely shocked me.

"She's...she's in California?" I said, forgetting about finishing my packing. "I thought she was going to New York?"

"Well," said Grandpa, wringing his hands nervously. "She tried to get there, but ended up having to stay in Santa Rhea. You know your mother and her careless spending."

"Santa Rhea!?"

Okay, before I go any further, a quick geography lesson; I'm pretty sure Mineral Town is part of the states. It's on an island with two other villages, Forget-Me-Not Valley and Flowerbud village. The island itself is pretty big, so the towns are far apart. We are actually off the coast of California, though a long way off – six hour boat ride. So whenever we took a trip to the mainland, it was in good old Cali.

The kicker? Every single trip I had taken there had started or been in Santa Rhea.

"How come you never told me?" I yelled. Grandpa cringed. "We were just there last year, you could have taken me to see her!"

"Calm down, May, and let me explain-"

"You better explain! I want to know why I wasn't allowed to see my own mother when she was just a boat ride away!" By now, I was raging. The issue had always been money, Grandpa would tell me. Can't afford fly all the way to her. But it had all been a lie.

"May," Grandpa said tentatively, pausing for me for to take a deep breath. "I know you're upset, but please, try to understand. Your mother had already given up her chance for success when she got pregnant with you. She had to return to Mineral Town, the place she had been so keen to escape when she was younger. But she need help raising her child. And I was her only option."

So my father was obviously some kind of one night stand. Or an asshole who didn't want anything to do with me.

Figures.

"When she left when you were eight, she thought she had another chance. But when reality crashed down, and she realized she abandoned her child for nothing. So instead of coming back to take responsibility for you, she selfishly tried to keep her dream alive, and stayed in California. She always hated it here, you know your mother."

"Well no, obviously," I said coldly. "I don't."

"I just didn't want you get hurt, May." Grandpa said pleadingly. "Joanna was so selfish, and she didn't deserve to see you. I just didn't want you to get hurt..." he said, trailing off.

No kidding. If I though Stu's words had hurt, they were nothing compared to this. No, this was _way_ worse. So my own mother wouldn't even come back to take care of me, knowing I was here, abandoned. I didn't even bother asking what career my mom thought she could be successful at. I found I didn't really care anymore.

There was no way I could go to my mom's now. No way in hell.

But did that stop me?

No, sadly. It did not.

By now the shoulder bag I was cramming was almost full, but I still needed a few more things. I got up from the floor and walked to the bathroom silently, grabbing my toothbrush and other toiletries. When I returned, Grandpa was slowly pulling clothes out of my bag and folding them, looking upset.

"I still need that."

"Sweetie, could you please just think this through?" he pleaded. For a second, my anger subsided. I felt bad for yelling at him, when all he was trying to do was protect me. But unfortunately, that only lasted a second, and then the fury returned.

"Grandpa," I said coldly. "I can't stay here, and you can't make me. I'm seventeen, and I can do what I want. I'm an adult."

I wasn't actually a legal adult until next year, but I wasn't going to point that out. _Oh yeah. I'm gonna get some _major_ karma for this._

At this point, I think there was no way I was gonna be convinced, and Grandpa seemed to realize that. So he just calmly said, "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know yet."

Grandpa looked like he was about to say something, then thought otherwise. "You can probably go at six; the shipment boat comes today. Or you can ask Zack, if you can't wait. Do you have money?"

"Yep." I had grabbed my secret money stash that I kept in my underwear drawer. It would last me for a while. "I'm set."

"...Alright then." Grandpa said, sighing grimly. He handed me my one bag, which he had put the stuff he took out back in after folding them. I took it with a nod.

"Bye, Grandpa. I...I love you." I said the last part with some difficulty; I wasn't the best at expressing affection verbally. "I'll call, okay?"

He nodded back. "Be safe, okay? Love you."

I turned and started towards my bedroom door, but paused as I noticed something on my nightstand. I hesitated._ Should I take it...?_ I ended up grabbing it and shoving it on top of the mountain of things in my bag.

Then I went out the front door for what I thought would be the last time in a long time.

---

_Ugh. Where is that stupid muscle head when you need him?_

I had arrived at Mineral Town's tiny beach, planning on getting Zack to take me to the mainland on his boat. But he was nowhere to be seen. _I don't wanna wait six freakin hours for the shipment boat... _I sighed and walked over to the building where Zack lived with the creepy merchant, Won. I knocked on the tentatively, bracing myself for a sales pitch. I was not disappointed.

The first thing I saw was a gigantic, hideous fish being waved in my face.

Now, I'm not afraid of fish or anything, but it's not exactly what you expect to see when answering someone's door. So I let out a scream and jumped back, nearly tripping on the step and falling on my ass.

After calming down, I realized that the fish did have an arm attached to it. A skinny, yellow rain coat covered arm belonging to the ever creepy Won. He smiled at me, his weird little moustache twitching. "Why, hello there, young May. Can I interest you in a delicious deal?"

"I just need to know where Zack is." I said firmly. I had experience dealing with the slimy salesman. Whenever he came to our ranch selling apples, I was always the one who had to slam the door in his face. Grandpa was always too nice, and purchased whatever he was selling at triple its worth. "I don't want any fish."

"Are you sure? Because it's top quality, no better tasting fish around-"

"Where .Is. Zack."

Thankfully, Won gave up. Obviously the look on my face showed that I was perfectly ready to beat him with his own fish if he didn't shut up. "He's taking a tourist around the island, if you must know." He tone was snippy now that he knew he couldn't scam me. "Won't be back until tonight."

"Lovely. Thank you." I said coldly, only to have Won slam the door in _my_ face.

Another bite in the ass from karma.

_I guess I'm waiting for the shipment boat... _I thought bitterly. I walked to the end of the dock, sat down, and put my head in my hands with a loud sigh. There was a reason I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I didn't want to give myself time to change my mind. I knew sitting here and letting my mind wander, or the voices returning could possibly lead to reconsideration. Or worse, someone coming down to convince me to stay. _If Stu came down and apologized, I would give in..._

_No. You need to get out of here._

Shit. There they go again.

_But he's the whole reason I'm leaving, right? If we hadn't fought, I wouldn't be here._

_Regardless, there are other reasons. You are too restricted here. You were meant for bigger things. Su doesn't matter..._

All this arguing with me inner conscious was giving me a killer headache. I growled at it to shut up, and then kicked the deck post in frustration. Not the best idea.

With explicits spilling out of my mouth and pain in both my head _and_ foot, you could say I wasn't in the best mood.

It didn't help when I heard someone _laughing_ behind me. Now, that pissed me off. How could someone be laughing at me when I was in this complete state of pain and misery? I turned around, ready to tell them off. But then I saw who it was. And groaned.

"Going somewhere, May?"

_...Ignore him and he'll go away._

A pause. "Oh, so you're just going to ignore me, eh? How rude." I responded with an equally rude hand gesture over my shoulder. He chuckled again. "Man, you're still just a little spoiled brat, aren't you? Not gonna mature anytime soon, huh."

"I am not a-" I started, spinning around angrily. But I stopped mid-sentence.

Because Kai was just sitting there, _smiling_ at me. And I stopped not only insulted he was making fun of me. No, I hesitated because no one can resist that smile.

No one.

Okay, so Kai is nearly fifteen years older than me, not to mention married. But this guy is absolutely _gorgeous_. Tan, buff, and he has this whole surfer, almost frat boy type thing going for him. And I'm allowed to admire that kind of beauty, aren't I? Besides, after a few seconds, I recovered and responded with, "At least I'm not a complete douche bag like you, Kai."

"Ouch," he said, clutching his chest as if my insult had pierced him. "That hurts, May. That hurts."

I rolled my eyes and turned them back to the ocean. Despite being gorgeous, Kai is also extremely annoying. He is overly cocky, and teases me as if I was a child. And I think he knows I like looking at him, which makes him even cockier. And gives him _more_ things to tease me about. It's just a viscous circle with this guy.

"So," Kai said, not caring that I was ignoring him. "Taking a little vacation?"

"Permanent vacation is more like it." I muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

"Hmm...well, where's Gramps and your man?" he asked, in a voice that suggested he already knew the answer. I turned around to glare at him, and sure enough he was smirking at me knowingly. I gave him my best death stare and replied, as calmly as possible, "It's just me. I'm leaving."

I knew what was coming. I waited for it, trying my best to not let my gaze wander down to Kai's toned, tanned arms and keep glaring. It took a moment; then there it was. "Why's that?"

Now, I was not really in the mood to explain my reasoning to Kai, of all people. Partly because I wasn't sure of it myself. So I ignored him once more, turning back to the ocean. But did that stop him? Of course not.

"Oh, so you want to make this a guessing game?" he said, sounding amused. See, that's another thing with Kai. Everything was all fun and games to him. "Hmm, let me think...you're seventeen now, right? Rebellious age...lived in a small town her whole life...you're running away. Not hard to guess why, either. I bet you think you just want more life experience, am I right?"

My hand twitched, but I refused to turn around. No way was I admitting this was completely true.

"And you're not bringing Mr. Parker because you think there are other guys out there, correct?"

Damn him. Damn him and his freakin psychic abilities or whatever. "Stop it." I growled, thoroughly pissed off that he was explaining my own problems to me.

"Stop what?"

"Knowing...being...telling me....just stop it!" I said, fumbling for the right words. I finally gave in and turned around, only to find him smirking at me again. This just infuriated me even more. "What do you want from me, Kai?"

"Just making small talk." Kai said innocently. I narrowed my eyes. He flashed me his perfect teeth. I sighed. "Okay, I'll bite. How do you know all this stuff?"

"Experience." He said simply, clucking his tongue. I gave him a questioning look. Instead of explaining, he asked, "Did you know I was born here, May?"

Okay. So that wasn't random at all. "Why no, Kai, I did not know that." I replied in a fake interested voice.

"Well, good! That's why I'm telling you." Kai said, equally sarcastic. He leaned back and took a breath, as if preparing for a highly difficult task. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "So," he began. "When my mom was pregnant with me, her and my dad where traveling, on vacation. Why they were doing this when my mom was nine months pregnant, I do not know. Maybe that's why I have a love for adventure." He smiled, but I just gave him a blank stare. _And he's telling me this....why?_

"So they happened to have stopped for a night in good ol' Mineral Town. They thought it was quaint and adorable, even if they were here by mistake; the boat broke down. So they stayed at the Inn, and what do ya know, my mom went into labour. And then – pop!" Kai made the sound with his mouth. I looked at him, unimpressed. "Out came me."

"Okay," I said dryly. "That was a wonderful story. But what does it have to do with me?"

"Ah, but don't you see?" Kai responded, his eyes twinkling. "Don't you think it means something? The fact that after traveling all over the world, the place I end up staying, happily married, was the tiny town I was born in? Back to my roots?"

Still unimpressed and confused to why he was telling me this, I responded simply with, "No."

"You don't think this place hold some kind of...magic?"

Okay, now he was getting weird. "No."

Kai frowned, but he wasn't giving up that easy. "You're telling me you don't like it here at all."

"Pretty much."

He gasped dramatically. "Oh, young May! I must help you realize the beautiful place that is Mineral Town!" Kai got up and walked over to where I was sitting and placed a hand on my shoulder. I tried to shrug it off, but he wasn't having that. "Just look at these gorgeous views! The ocean, Mother's Hill. And of course," he said with a wolfish grin. "The glorious sight that is the Snack Shack! How can you dislike a place like this?"

"What is so wrong with wanting to see the beauty of other places?" I snapped, irritated at his dramatics. "You're a traveler, you should know! It's not like you can say you've lived in the same place your whole life."

There was silence for a moment, so I thought maybe he had given up. But that was just wishful thiknng on my part."Ah, but May," he said, his voice suddenly a lot closer to my ear. I jumped. "You do not just want to see the world; you're running away. Something happened. What is it?"

"None of your business." I said, scooting away from him, uncomfortable at the sudden closeness.

"Is it Gramps?"

Silence.

"Stu?"

My hand clenched involuntarily; he had his answer. "You know," Kai said, moving so he was sitting down next to me. "You should try and work things out with him before you take off. Even if you still want to leave, things won't be left unsettled."

"But I can't!" I exclaimed suddenly, a small dose of the hysteria returning. _Oh, fantastic. _"I can't talk to him, because then I know I'll want to stay with him! And I know I don't _really_ want to stay, but I will because of him. And your first boyfriend is not who you're supposed to marry right? I have to meet other guys before I make that decision! And I'm not gonna find any here, so I have no choice!"

What a wonderful way to spend my afternoon; spilling my guts out to Kai.

He was silent for a moment, which was rare. I sat there, taking deep breaths and hoping the semi-hysteria would go away. The first thing he said was, "May...you're in love with Stu, right?"

I didn't respond; denying it would be useless, not to mention a lie, and admitting it would be humiliating. Kai didn't really seem to need nor expect and answer, because right away he said, "Then you can't just go throwing that away. You _know_ things will be okay if you just talk to him, but you seem to have this idea that just because he's your first love that means he can't be your only. Which isn't true."

Kai was talking in an uncharacteristically serious voice, and it seemed to calm me down a little. And his words got to me._ You love him, so why throw that away for nothing?_ But he was looking at me in a smug beat-that way, so I wasn't quite ready to give in. "Did you think you were gonna marry _your_ first love, Kai?"

Kai blinked. I got a surge of satisfaction at stumping him. His face suddenly turned thoughtful, as if trying to dig up an old memory. "My first love..." he muttered, mostly to himself. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, I get it. You have to sift through your other ten thousand girlfriends before you can even come close to remembering your _first. _Go ahead, take your time."

He scowled at me – another rare act from Kai. "Of course I can remember her. And to answer your question, yes. I most likely thought I was going to marry her. But that was a long time ago."

"How old were you?"

"Just because I-"

"_How old were you._"

Kai hesitated; he knew his answer would just prove the point I was about to make. Eventually he sighed, and said, "...Sixteen."

I smirked triumphantly. "And that girl wasn't Mary, I'm guessing."

"No, but-"

"Then how come it's okay for you to have met other girls before you found the one, and I'm expected to marry the first one I ever even _meet_? How is that fair?"

Another scowl. "What am I, your dad now?" I just looked at him expectantly. "Now what _you're _doing isn't fair. You're taking a completely different situation and-"

"How is it different?"

"I was getting to that!" And then I saw strange yet amazing sight – Kai giving _me _death glare. Oh, the irony. "Because, a) I'm a guy. We function differently. And b) I wasn't in love with my first girlfriend the way you are with Stu. I can tell."

The guy thing made no sense, but the second part had some truth to it. I doubt a former player like Kai was ever _really_ in love as a teenager. Not like...me and Stu. "And c) I broke up with my first girlfriend because it wasn't working out. You, on the other hand, are taking off because you _know,_ deep down, that it's going to work out. And you're scared."

"I am not-" I began, but Kai held up a hand to silence me. As much as I hated to admit it, he had pretty much won this argument. "You're scared, and you want to have more relationships even though you _know_ none of them will come even close to what you have with Stu."

"You can't know that," I protested. Who did he think he was, some kind of relationship guru? "_I_ don't even know that."

Kai just flashed his ever-dazzling smile. "Oh, I know you know. Because I _know."_

I blinked, slightly confused. "How could you possibly know that I'll never have a successful, uh, relationship? Other than Stu?"

"Because you two are in _lurrrvvee._ You basically admitted it, and I can tell." Kai proceeded to make some rather disgusting kissing noises in my face. I backed away, mostly repulsed yet slightly embarrassed at the proximity again. "Real mature, Kai. That's definitely gonna make me believe you." I said, folding my arms across my chest. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, but I do."

"Prove it."

Kai raised his eyebrows. "Oh, is that a challenge?" I nodded, staring at him defiantly. "Well, I don't think I can explain this without sounding creepy..." He said thoughtfully, leaning back on his hands. "But you have challenged me, so I must. You'll probably think I'm a stalker or something...but I just kinda notice these things. Okay, here goes." I was slightly wary about what he was going to say to convince me he knew my relationship better than I did – especially since he already warned it would sound creepy. But I let him explain anyway.

"For one...it's the way he looks at you. Like you are the most precious thing in the world. That boy is smitten." I felt a blush rise to my cheeks and looked away. "With you, it's a little different. You seem to look at him as if you _need_ him. Not in a clingy way, either...it's the real deal. And I know you guys aren't into PDA, which is good, but it's some of the little things that give it away. Like he'll reach over to push some hair off your face, or you'll brush you hand across his cheek. It's just so...intimate." he finished with a sheepish grin. "May sound creepy, but like I said, I just _know_ these things. Power of observation."

The funny thing is, despite the fact that this whole little speech made Kai sound like a weird, somewhat pedophile-ish stalker, it didn't sound all that creepy coming from his mouth. There was something about his voice – smooth, soft, and deep – that made it sound..._sexy. _

Well, _that_ sounds a little creepy. But you get what I mean.

I didn't say anything, so Kai kept going. "I've never seen couples your age like that. You guys know how to show affection without being all over each other, like most teens. Believe, I know. I've been there." Kai's tone changed, and so did his smile; into a sort of satisfied smirk. "Oh, I've been there..."

I stared at him for a moment as he seemed to drift off into Kai-land, then realized what he was probably picturing. "Okay, now that's creepy. And perverted." I said disgustedly. He seemed to jolt out of some sort of flashback. "What's wrong with remembering my teenage years?" he protested. I rolled my eyes. I get the impression that Kai-land is a very bright place. And full of perverted content.

There was a gap in the conversation. I took the time to reach over and garb Kai's wrist to look at his watch. It was only 12:30. I sighed and looked back out to the ocean.

"You know I'm never letting you get on that boat, May."

I looked over, startled at his sudden serious tone. Kai was staring at me with an equally serious expression. Truth be told, I had already given up on this matter. Getting on the boat seemed stupid now – at least by myself – what with Kai's oh-so-convincing arguments, all sarcasm aside. Still, I gave the glare all the same. "And why are you so intent on stopping me, anyway?"

"Come on, May." He said, the humour now back in his face with a wolfish grin. "I don't want you making a huge mistake. You're like a little sister to me."

"And what if I don't want a big brother?" I challenged.

"Too bad." It seemed Kai took this time to display his big brother authority over me, because he reached over and pulled my ponytail. Hard. "Ow!" I cried, trying to hit him while being tipped over backwards. Kai merely laughed – until I landed a punch on his side.

"You've got quite the arm." He muttered, rubbing his ribs. I could tell my hit had surprised him more than it hurt him – but I smirked anyway. "Thank you, brother dearest."

There was another pause in conversation, while he re-evaluated my little sister status and I sat there, rather pleased with myself. It was then that the question popped into my head. It was completely random yet totally relevant, so I went ahead and asked it. "Kai, when you and Mary got married-" Yes, that's a wonderful pun, is it not? "-Why didn't you keep on traveling? I would have figured you'd take her with you."

Something about Kai's expression suggested he'd been asked this question multiple times. "Because she wanted to stay here." he answered simply. "And I certainly wasn't going to leave without her, was I?"

I frowned. "Yeah, but didn't you have other restaurants? You could have taken her to other places, it wasn't as if here was your only option...Popuri used to go on and on about you two getting married and seeing the world."

Kai flinched at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. "Must we talk about Popuri?" he said, as if the sound of her name pained him. I don't blame him, really. Just living next door to the pink-haired psycho was enough to make me gag. I couldn't imagine _dating_ her.

"And to answer your question," he continued. "Mary just said she preferred staying in Mineral Town. Why, I do not know. But I had no problem with it. I like it here, as I said before. There's magic, I tell you."

I chose to ignore this last comment. "Even if it meant giving up your endless summers?" I asked, grinning.

"But of course. I'd endure even the harshest winters for my maiden." Kai responded, in a fairly good Old English accent. His gaze turned back to somewhat serious as he added, "If you're with the one you love, it should matter where you are."

There was a pause. "That's deep, Kai. Real deep." I meant for this to sound sarcastic, but I couldn't help seeing the truth in his words. I think he knew they got to me, because he smirked, satisfied. "Thank you, young Mayflower." He said, back to the accent.

I scowled deeply. "Don't call me that. Ever."

Kai's eyebrows shot up. "Oh? What's wrong with Mayflower?"

"Nothing. You're just not allowed to call me that."

"And who is?"

"Nobody." I said quickly. But he somehow knew that I was lying. And, of course, started to tease me about it. Bastard.

"Then how come I've heard Mr. Parker call you that ever-so-affectionately on occasion, hm?"

Oh. So that's how he knew.

"...Shut up, Kai."

Is this what having a sibling is like? Someone who knows exactly the best ways to irritate you?

"And what nickname do you have for him, huh? Sweetie-Stu? Honey bear? _Pookie?_" he said this last one in a baby voice, right at my ear, ever so annoyingly. I jumped again at the sudden closeness, though not nearly as embarrassed this time. Instead, I took the opportunity to cover his face with my hand and push. "How would you like to go for a swim, Big Brother?" I said, trying to force him off the edge of the dock. He resisted, of course.

"Only if you come with me, Little Sis."

"Oh, we'll see about that..."

---

"Grandpa?" I called out as I opened the front door to my house. I stepped in, tossing my bag on the floor and collapsing on the couch. The clock read 6:30. _Has it really been _that_ long?_

After a sort of wrestling match with Kai that ended with me giving up – he had somehow managed to have me half off the deck, my head dangling over the water, as he threatened to push me all the way off. I don't know if I could handle him being my _actual _brother – I had headed to my signature spot. You guessed it; the Goddess Pond.

I know what you're thinking – how could she spend six hours at a _pond_? Well, the thing was...I kinda fell asleep. I didn't mean too, of course. At first, I was just sitting there, thinking things over. You know, like some of the stuff Kai said, how to patch things up with Stu, how the hell to deal with this marriage business...when I just kinda drifted off. And I woke up, five and a half hours later, to find myself sprawled out on the grass.

Anyways, I was still collapsed on the couch when Grandpa came running down the stairs like a mad-man. "May!" he cried out dramatically, rushing over and practically lifting me off the couch in a bone-crushing hug. For someone so small and frail looking, my grandpa is pretty strong. "I thought you'd left for good!"

"No," I said, my voice muffled, on account of my face being squished into his shoulder. "I, uh, changed my mind."

Grandpa finally released and stepped back, beaming. "Did Stu catch you before you were about to leave?"

"Uh, no...why?" I said, confused at this seemingly random assumption.

"He came looking for you about an hour ago, and I told him you were leaving. The poor boy panicked." Grandpa said, giving me a disproving look. "Asked me when you were going. I told him most likely on the shipment boat, but it was possible you could have gone with Zack. He said he was going after you."

After this explanation, I had a horrible nagging suspicion in the back of my mind, but I tried not to panic. "Grandpa..." I said carefully. "Did he say, um... do you know what he meant about going after me? Like...possibly following me to California type of going after?"

"Oh, I don't know, May." He said, frowning. "Why does it matter? You haven't left, so he doesn't need to go after you."

"No, but Grandpa," I said, unable to hold back the panic now. This was not good. This was not good at all. "You have to tell me. Did it sound like he was desperate enough to do that?"

"Well, I suppose. He seemed pretty upset. Why does it matter this much?"

"Because!" I said, my voice now quite more high pitched than normal. "I haven't been at the beach all afternoon, and Zack wasn't there, so he might have thought..."

_Oh. My. Goddess._

"Well, he did ask where you were going." said Grandpa uncomfortably. I don't blame him. I was on the verge of a full on panic attack now. "I told him the only thing you said was possibly going to your mother's...and he asked for the address. So...I gave it to him."

_OH. MY. GODDESS._

Every curse word in the book now being exclaimed from my mouth, I leapt off the couch and ran out the door. Not wearing shoes, if I may add. So there I was, running along the hot cobblestone path and freaking out. At least my burning feet caused me to run faster. Not that it made much of a difference when I got there.

I threw open the Parker's door, and knew instantly. Physically, the house pretty much looked the same, but I could feel its emptiness somehow. After scanning over the downstairs in a frenzy, I noticed a piece of paper on the coffee table. My heart sank. I ran over and snatched it up.

_I took some of the money from Grandma's jewellery box. May's taken off. I'm not letting her go again._

_Love,_

_Stu_

_Oh. My. Effing. Goddess._

**A/N: HA! Betcha didn't see that one coming, did ya? **

**KK**


	5. California Dreamin'

**Growing Up**

DoubleKK

**A/N: So, after *counts* six months, chapter five. It's more of a transition chapter, which is pretty much just a nicer word for fillerific. **

The boat`s cabin was small and cramped; my head almost reached the ceiling. Not to mention it smelled like fish and beer. Not a great combination. At my feet were empty bottles, books, and for some reason a sleeping bag. It made me wonder if Zack actually _lived_ on this disgusting thing.¸

He was at the front driving the boat. Zack, I mean. Thankfully, he wasn`t trying to make conversation. I suspected this was because he was still half asleep. I probably should have been worried, considering he could have dozed off and crashed us into you something, but my mind was elsewhere.

So you can probably predict how I reacted after reading Stu`s note. Basically, I did what I always do after finding out some horrible, shocking news - (which has been happening a lot lately, if I must say) –Which was have a hysterical panic attack. Let`s just say it involved me screaming, hitting things, and chucking the note across the room. When that didn`t work, I ripped it into a bajillion pieces.

So pretty much an average reaction.

What I was not, but probably should have been, expecting was for the neighbours to come running. The noise I was making had roused Mayor Thomas, and, Goddess help me, Harris. I nearly had a heart attack when they burst through the door, the wannabe policeman wielding a baseball bat.

"Freeze!" screamed the rent a cop. I stopped freaking out and stared at him in disbelief. The bat was pointed above his head, ready to strike down upon its victim, and his eyes were wild with excitement. "You're not serious." I said dryly.

The mayor cleared his throat. Harris looked at him. "I don't think anyone's attacking her, son." He motioned for him to lower the bat. He obliged.

"Are you sure?'" asked Harris, looking around the room hopefully. I stared at him, disgusted. What, did he want me to be getting raped or something, just so he could have his one moment of actual police work? "I'm fine." I said coldly.

"Oh. Okay." replied Harris disappointedly, and he walked out the door with his baseball bat in tow. If that doesn't explain how small and pathetic Mineral Town is, nothing will. We have one lazy, untrained cop who's only weapon is a bat.

Oh, and did I mention he also doubles as the mailman?

Yeah. Doesn't get much sadder than that.

Harris may have left when he learned there was no danger, but Thomas did not. Instead, he walked up to me, a concerned look on his face. I don't blame him, really. Then, I was pretty calm. Shaking a bit maybe, from anger and shock, but it was nothing compared to before. I must have sounded like I was being murdered from next door.

"So, what was all that yelling about?" Thomas asked me, sitting down next to me on the couch were I had just parked myself.

Like I was gonna tell him.

"Nothing."

"I see." For moment, I thought he was going to drop it. At least, I hoped. No such luck. "Are you okay, May?"

_Ugh._ I just stared at the bits of Stu's shredded note on the floor. It seemed like everyone I came across these days asked me if I was 'okay.' And it always led to some sort of discussion about my life. Ann, sure. I had come to her for that specific reason. Kai, though annoying, had turned out to be quite helpful.

But there was no way in hell I was going to get life lessons from _Mayor Thomas_.

"I have to go." I said suddenly, standing up. _Better not give him the chance._ There was surprise and concern on his aged face, but I ignored it. I left the house without looking back and started on the cobblestone path.

Thoughts flew through as chaotically as they had this morning. _Stu's going to Santa Rhea. There's gonna be other girls there. He's looking for me. He's free to do whatever he wants. But I'm not there. THERES GONNA BE OTHER GIRLS THERE WAY HOTTER THAN YOU, MAY!_

There were no voices this time, just a maddening mass of screaming. It made me want to curl up into a ball and cover my ears. So I did.

Well, not exactly. It was like I going to rock back and forth in the fetal position in the middle on the street. Though I was completely unaware of where I was going, I waited until I saw the nearest wood encased garden (which we have a whole lot of in Mineral Town) and sat myself down. I tried to think clearly. The coherent thought that came to my mind, however, did not help the situation whatsoever.

_Karma._

...Damnit.

_This is most likely how Stu felt when you told you wanted experience, isn't it? Now you know how it feels._

My cosmic energy totally sucks.

I don't know how long I stayed like that. Could have been hours. If anyone regularly walked on the street I was huddled, they would have thought I had escaped from a mental hospital. But thankfully, Mineral Town's lack of people evened out with its lack of streets, so no one came my way. And for the first time in a long time, I was able to think clearly. No voices. No arguments from separate people. Just me, myself, and I. And by the time I had risen from my seat, I had made up my mind.

I was going after him.

Oh, the horrid irony of the situation.

This may sound completely insane to you. Just let me explain my reasoning: Stu was under the impression that I was in Santa Rhea, possibly at my mothers. When he went to her and realized I hadn't gone there, that might lead him to searching the rest of the city. Now, would you want your boyfriend wandering foreign streets looking for something he wasn't going to find, all the while surrounded by tan, gorgeous California girls?

The answer is no, no you would not.

So really, I didn't have a choice. There was no way to contact Stu and tell him I was still in Mineral Town. And I had no idea how long it would be before he called home to talk to his family or whatever. It could have been a week; it could have been that night. But I wasn't taking any chances.

Crazy? Maybe. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I stood up, dusting dirt off my jeans. I had made a mental list of thing to do while thinking things through; number one on the list?

Kill Kai.

He was not on his bench, so I stormed into the Snack Shack. It was deserted, except for my target, looking bored behind the counter. He perked up when he saw me; but I wasn't about to order a sno-cone.

"You let him go? After all that time convincing _me_, you let him go?" I yelled at him, slamming my fists down on the counter. Kai looked extremely taken aback.

"What? Let who go?"

"Stu!" I practically spat the name in his face. "He, under the impression that I had already left with Zack, has now run off to California! And you let it happen!"

"Whoa, whoa. Back up." said Kai, looking defensive through his confusion. "I've been here all afternoon, so there's no way I could have known your boy was leaving. How do you even know what boat he took?"

"Because," I said impatiently. I had worked it all out at the flowerbed. "Zack was giving someone and island tour. Won told me he wouldn't be back until tonight. So Stu probably saw that Zack's boat was gone, assumed I was on it, and hopped the shipment boat at six. Get it?"

"Okay..." said Kai slowly. "And how is this my fault?"

"Because you let it happen!" I exploded. The fact that Kai had taken the time to advise me to stay in Mineral Town, and then completely overlook Stu pissed me off. Some big brother he was.

"But how the hell was I supposed to-"

"Forget it." I said, placing my hand on my forehead tiredly. "I'm going after him. I can't let Stu search Santa Rhea for me when I'm not there."

Kai's expression changed to one of exasperation. "You're overreacting, May." He sighed. "As usual."

"I AM NOT OVEREACTING!"

"Yeah, because you screaming in my face is totally gonna prove otherwise." He responded calmly. I glared at him and took a deep breath. I know I accuse myself of overreacting often, but it's maddening to hear others say it. "Okay," I said in my best casual tone. "I do not believe I am overreacting, Kai, therefore I will ignore you and do what I want."

Clucking his tongue and looking very much like a teacher explaining an obvious topic to a simple child , Kai leaned his elbows on the counter and responded patiently, "Why don't you just wait for him to call home?"

"I'm not taking any chances." I said firmly, fixing my gaze directly on his. There was a moment of silence, and then Kai sighed once more. "Whatever. I'm not bothering to try and stop you this time. Too much work." He tilted his head back and blew on his bangs. "I'm getting too old for this..."

I blinked. I had never, ever heard Kai once say anything about the fact he wasn't as young as he used to be. You wouldn't know by the way he acted; to a stranger, he would just seem like some random twenty year old frat boy on vacation. As I looked at him, I noticed that Kai had a few premature wrinkles around his mouth; probably from smiling so much.

"Uh, okay...thanks." I said, surprised at his sudden surrender. He shrugged and went back to leaning on the counter boredly. I turned and started towards the door, then hesitated and looked back. "So, you're not gonna try and like..."

I trailed off. Kai smiled slightly. "Hey, I've done my job." He said with another shrug. "At least you're not leaving for the wrong reasons now."

I blinked.

He had a point.

"Um, okay...bye." I opened the screen door to leave, but his voice stopped me. "Hey."

I turned.

Kai was flashing me his ever-so-beautiful smile at me once more. As usual, but maybe not so much as before, I was dazzled by it. "Good luck with your boy, little sis." He said, inclining his head slightly.

As I looked at him, his white teeth nearly blinding me, I realized all my previous anger towards the man had disappeared. And it wasn't just because of the smile, either. "Thanks, Kai."

And I meant it.

---

"You're not going."

"Why?!"

"Because I said so."

"That's not a reason!"

"This is absolutely ridiculous, May." Grandpa said, sighing. "I already almost had a heart attack from you running off once-"

"But I have to!"

"You don't _have_ to do anything. Stu is a big boy; he can take care of himself."

I gave an enormous sigh of frustration. I had overlooked one important flaw in my plan; Grandpa agreeing to it. "You just don't get it."

His determined, strict look was unwavering. "I get that it's not safe for a teenage girl to be wandering around a strange city alone." He said stiffly. "Especially you, May."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Grandpa's look changed to one quite serious now; he got up from the couch and walked over to where I was standing and fixed his gaze on my face. "You and your horrible temper could result in your death." He said, reaching up to put a hand on my shoulder. "People in cities aren't like the ones in Mineral Town."

_He's just worried about you._

I sighed again, guilt starting to poke at my insides. I was going to have to deal with this differently. And, unfortunately, that would have to involve...

"The truth is Grandpa, I want to see Mom."

...Lying.

He blinked. "But I thought it was because you wanted to find-"

"I do. But I want to talk to my mother, too. Ask her some stuff. And I'm sorry, but..." I stared him right in the face; his eyes were confused, brow furrowed. "I need to do it by myself."

Actually, this was only half a lie. I did need to do this alone. Just not see my mother. I mean, come on. What would you do if you found out your mother just abandoned you? Not jump up to go visit her, that's for sure. But I thought using that as an excuse would get Grandpa off my back so I could and retrieve Stu. It did.

"Well...I'm glad you want to try and work things out with your mother, sweetheart." Grandpa said. He was trying to get back his firm confidence, but I knew I had him defeated. "But I still don't feel comfortable with you going to Santa Rhea alone."

"After I find Stu, I won't be."

A frown creased his forehead. "I thought you wanted to speak with her alone."

Whoops. Backtrack. "Yeah, of course." I said quickly, trying to cover my mistake. "I mean, after I find Stu. I won't be in the city by myself. He just won't...come with me to see Mom. Cause I need to speak to her alone. Of course." I finished awkwardly, hoping I hadn't blown my chances.

Grandpa's face displayed a variety of emotions. One was definitely suspicion. Another appeared to be concern for my health, physical and mental. But he also looked...tired. Like he was ready to be done with all this arguing. He looked older than ever. "Alright, May. Do what you want. I won't stop you."

I was surprised. This was the second time today someone had just surrendered to me. It was unusual, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to take advantage of it. "Okay. Thank you, Grandpa."

_Victory!_

I'll spare you the rest of the details. It mostly involved me gathering up my same crammed bag again, getting safety lectures from Grandpa, and working out when I was going to leave. As much as I tried to convince him otherwise, Grandpa assured me that Zack would simply not travel so late at night to cater to my needs. He would have to go there and back; twelve hour trip. So I decided on first thing in the morning – which meant waking up early. _Yuck._

And that brings us back here to the smelly, cramped boat. I yawned, feeling my eyes water. I had woken up at five o' clock in the morning, (yes, you read that right. _Five a.m._) and barrelled down to the beach to leave.

Well, maybe not barrelled. Who had that kinda energy that early?

I could tell Zack wasn't very happy with me. He wasn't any more of a morning person than I was. It took a lot of convincing, and equally as much cash to get him to drive me to California. We had been on the boat for a long time now; we couldn't have been that far from land.

I let my thoughts wander to planning. After all, I couldn't just walk into Santa Rhea, expecting Stu to be standing right in front of me eating ice cream. It was going to take some searching.

_It's not that big...right?_

"We're almost there, May." said Zack from the front of the boat, stifling his own yawn. I looked up through the grimy front window to see an approaching land mass. _Santa Rhea. _I frowned, feeling uneasy. It certainly_ looked_ big from here. "About twenty more minutes."

"Kay."

_Stu, here I come._

**A/N: Well, that was short compared to last chapter. It probably shouldn't have taken me six months to write that...which brings me to my next point. I need a second opinion (or third or fourth or whatever) on next chapter. Not to spoil anything, but the way I had it planned out, May finds Stu next chapter. But isn't that a little soon? I don't know. So, if you review, could you tell me whether you think I should split it into two parts or not.**

**Chapters are so long on fanfiction. If this were a novel, every time I used this thing:**

**---**

**^^^that thing there, it would be a new chapter.**

**ANYWAY, I don't know how long it will take me to write. I have three video games I'm playing right now (Zelda Spirit Tracks, Wind Waker, and HM Sunshine Islands) have about ten unread books sitting on my shelf, rehearsals all next week, AND exams. But I'll definitely find some writing time between then. **

**Sorry for the super long authors note.**


	6. The Stupidest Person on the Planet

**Growing Up**

DoubleKK

**A/N: Hopefully time between updates will be shortening sometime in the future.**

After six hours of being trapped with Zack in his piece of shit boat, I had finally made it.

We pulled into a harbour of sorts. Dozens of boats, all significantly nicer than Zack's, were docked in one area. Fishing boats, speed boats, and one enormous yacht I couldn't help staring at. It was one of the one's rich people are always depicted as having on TV; big, white, and intimidating. It was the yacht we docked next to, causing our broken down thing to look more pathetic than it already was.

As Zack hopped out of the boat and starting securing it, I took the time to look around. There were so many _people_. Many were just sitting on their boats, drinking beer or tanning, and I could see a street up from the harbour that was just bustling with bodies. It was mind boggling for someone like me, who had grown up in a town with less than thirty inhabitants. I mean, I had been to the mainland before. But the fact that it was so..._populated_, always overwhelmed me.

"Whew," I said, shielding my eyes from the blinding sun. I hoped there were sunglasses somewhere in my mess of a bag. "Sure is hot out."

"Yep," grunted Zack, tying off the final rope and motioning for me to get off. "You should have realized that before." he said, eyeing my jeans and hoodie.

He was right. It _was_ California, and summer time. But hey, it wasn't exactly warm in Mineral Town at five o'clock in the morning. Shrugging off my hoodie, I grabbed my bag and manoeuvred through the mess to get off the boat. When I attempted to climb over the edge, what happened wasn't very surprising.

I mean, it was a very May-like thing to do.

I fell flat on my face.

I couldn't even get my hands out to break my fall, since they were full, so it was literally _on my face_. Splat, right upon the wooden deck. It didn't really hurt that much, but I could feel my cheeks flushing.

"Are you okay?" asked Zack, coming over to help me up. I gave him a mumbled reply. Two minutes in Santa Rhea and I had already managed to embarrass myself. I mean, people were looking. The rich snobs on the yacht weren't even trying to hide their laughter. I resisted the temptation to finger them.

After dusting myself off, I said, "Thanks for driving me Zack." I tried to sound as polite as possible. I just wanted to get the hell outta there.

"No prob." He answered. I frowned as he started to pull a few things out of the boat, including a large duffle bag. "Aren't you going back to Mineral Town?" I asked.

Zack looked surprised. "Nope. Didn't I tell you?" He put his things over his over-large shoulders and faced me. "I'm going to be here in California for a while, so you're most likely gonna have to find your own way back."

I blinked. "Oh." What, did I expect him to come pick me up whenever I called? "Okay."

"See you around, kid." Zack said with a half smile, and walked off the dock and to the street above. He disappeared into the crowd.

_This is it. I'm on my own now._ Pretending like I knew what I was doing, I grabbed my bag and walked up the way Zack had a couple of seconds ago, emerging onto a busy street. I couldn't have been standing there for more than two seconds when it hit me.

_What the _hell _are you doing?_

I swear, it was like a mini panic attack all over again; I thought I was going to start hyperventilating right there in the middle of the street. I mean, there I was – in a city I had no idea how to navigate, looking for someone when I didn't even know where to start, and no plan for getting home.

It was possibly the worst idea I had ever had.

And that's saying something.

Hey, you've probably been thinking that the whole time you've been reading this. _Wow, this May chick is an idiot. _Yes. Yes I am.

_Where am I even supposed to go? What if I can't find him before the day is over? Where am I going to stay? How will I get home? What if I can't find him _at all_? What if it gets dark out and I'm wandering the streets alone and someone robs me and then I find Stu but he's having sex in an alley with some random hooker or chopped up in a dumpster?_

Through the umpteenth panic attack of the last few days, I hadn't even realized I was walking down the street blindly. I had taken in just enough to realize that it was in front of a beach, lined with touristy places and surf shops. Which, of course, meant there were a lot of people. And since I was paying no attention to my surroundings, it wasn't long until these two factors collided. Literally.

_Smack. _I practically bounced off the person I had walked in to, falling hard on the pavement. I managed to spare my head, but my tailbone got the worst of it. I could practically feel an enormous bruise starting to form. "Oh my god, are you all right? I am so sorry!"

I looked up, squinting against the harsh sunlight to see the speaker. _Once again, find sunglasses. _Before my eyes had fully adjusted, I felt a pair of hands grab my wrists and pull me to my feet easily.

Now that I was standing directly in front of them, I realized the person the person who had knocked me down was a guy. A very _cute_ guy. He had just-rolled-out-of-bed-but-probably-took-a-while-to-achieve blonde hairstyle and deeply tanned skin. His eyes were stunning; a bright green that rivalled Karen's. "Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Y-yes." I stuttered stupidly, a little put off by his attractiveness. I noticed he was still holding my wrists, so I quickly dropped them to my sides. He let go. "I'm fine."

He ran a hand through his surfer-esque blonde hair. "I should have been watching where I was going."

"No, it's my fault." Why I was starting a pointless argument with this guy, I don't know. "I don't even know _where_ I'm going. I'm sorta lost."

_...Why the _hell_ did you just say that?_

Seriously, I don't even know what came over me. Lost was not even the word for it. I should have just apologized and walked away, instead of acting like some helpless little girl. I was just contemplating on how to do that when the guy frowned and said, "Oh? Well, maybe I could help you find where you're going and take you there."

I blinked. He looked so sincere, so eager to help me that I felt like crying. Stupid, I know. But it was a great feeling – a mixture between relief and gratitude, I would say – knowing that out of all these strangers, one person wanted to help me. Well, technically he really couldn't do anything. But it's the thought that counts. "Well, actually, it's kind of a person I'm looking for. So it'd be hard to, uh, show me the way. But I appreciate it." I smiled to let him know I meant it.

I was expecting an 'Oh, alright' and that would be it. But no."What's your name?" He asked abruptly.

I was taken aback. _Well, that was an odd placement for an introduction. _"Uh, May."

"May," he repeated, grinning. "That's a pretty name. I'm Ethan."

Stupidly, one compliment on something as subject as my _name_ had me flustered. Jeez. It was liked I'd been starved from male attention. "Thank you." I managed to say without sounding like a complete fool. It took me a second to realize he had his hand out for me to shake; I stared blankly for a few seconds before taking it.

"So," said Ethan casually. "Did you get separated from the person you're looking for, or what?"

"Actually, I...yeah. Yeah I did." _Let's just go with that. _"I just kind of lost him in the crowd. Now I have no clue where he went."

"He?"

"Yeah."

"What, is it your brother or something?"

"Uh, no."

"Boyfriend?" he said sceptically.

If I was going to flatter myself, I would say this was like one of those situations where a guy is hoping a girl doesn't have a boyfriend, so he treats it like he doesn't think she does...if that makes sense. It does on TV. "Uh..."

I don't know why I hesitated. I should have just said 'Yep.' And Ethan would give up on the small interest he had in me, if there was any in the first place. But even if it may not seem like it, I was still rather pissed at Stu. And this cute guy was kinda-sorta flirting with me, so really? I think my reasons are justified.

Okay, not really. But whatever.

But before I could even answer, Ethan interrupted with "What does he look like? Maybe I've seen him." I got a flash of his pearly whites again. Man, this guy smiled a lot. Almost as much as Kai.

I figured there was no harm in telling him, even though there was zero chance in it being any help. "My age, tall, dark-haired, gray eyes, sorta dimply smile?"

Ethan paused, a look of contemplation on his face. I took a moment to admire his tan skin and nice build. I noticed when I looked at his face that his nose was crooked, like it had been broken recently. After a second, he said, "I don't remember seeing anyone of that description." He smiled apologetically.

I wasn't surprised. _You probably could have passed him eight times and not have taken any notice. _I smiled at him anyway. "That's alright. I'm sure I'll find him eventually."

Again, I was just preparing on how I could leave politely, when he said "Hey, why don't you give me your phone number, and I'll call you if I see him or whatever?"

_Wha...?_

Dude, it doesn't just happen on TV. In real life, _guys ask you for your phone number. _And it happened to me!

...Okay, take a moment to laugh at my naivety.

Done? Alright.

Anyways, after getting over the shock that I might actually be getting hit on, I recovered. "Actually, I'm on vacation, and I don't have a cell phone."

"Parents won't get you one?" Ethan asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, it sucks." Honestly, it was so easy to just go along with the conclusions this guy came up with on his own. "Sorry."

"Do you want mine? In case you ever, you know, need help anything while you're here. Or wanna hang out something."

_Holy shit. This is weird._ I couldn't help it; I started blushing. I was so not used to adorable strangers showing interest in me. With Stu, it was just like best friends _BAM_ cold strangers _BAM_ whatever the hell you'd call us now. None of this back and forth flirting stuff. So, again, being completely retarded and disregarding the reason I was even in this stupid city, I responded, "Sure."

Ethan grinned and started to fish a pen and something to write with out of his backpack. Half of my brain was pleased, while the other half screamed at me for being such an idiot. I managed to tune out the angry side, though, because when I took the crumpled piece of paper with _Ethan H. _and a bunch of numbers scribbled on it, I gave him my best smile. He returned it with an even brighter one.

"Well, I guess I better get going." Ethan said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Meeting some friends."

"Thanks for your, uh, help." I said.

He laughed. "What, you mean knocking you down and being completely useless? You're welcome, then." Then he did something that was totally bold, both scaring the crap out of me and kinda not at the same time; he reach out and grazed his fingertips down my arm as he began to walk away. "See you around, May."

"Bye." I watched his retreating form for a moment, and then looked down at the paper in my hand. Reality sank in then. I was probably never going to see Ethan again. And despite the thrill I had received from that conversation, I didn't really matter to me. I had bigger problems. I probably should've just chucked the number in the first trash can I saw, but instead I slipped it into my back pocket.

On the road again.

This time, I paid attention to my surroundings. Still had no idea where I was going, though. The street was utterly crowed, due to the fact that it was right next to the beach. Guy walked by carrying surf boards, accompanied by girls in small swimsuits and big sunglasses. Families with screaming children were trying to force them into their car seats, and the occasional person being pulled by a dog on rollerblades zoomed by.

It was terrifying.

I continued down the street anyways, figuring it had the most people, therefore having a chance of one of them being Stu. Pathetic reasoning, I know, but I had to pretend I had some sort of plan so I didn't break down in the middle of the sidewalk. It wasn't long before a couple of crucial problems occurred to me.

a) I was dying of heat in my clothes

b) I was in desperate need of sunglasses

c) I had to pee.

I tackled b) first, only because almost immediately I came across a shop with a display of sunglasses in the front window. I had fun trying on the different pairs, before selecting a pair similar to what I'd seen girls wearing all day; entirely too big for my face and giving me the appearance of a bug. The guy behind the counter looked like he had been recently smoking something, a far off look on his face as I paid.

The sunlight no longer caused me to squint like a half blind person when I walked out. I felt almost comfortable. For some reason, it seemed the glasses had given some sort of confidence or something. Maybe it was because I sorta fit in now. Except for the fact that I was in a dark pair of jeans that seemed to absorb heat, I looked like any other girl, instead of the hick I was.

_Alright, problem c). Where can I find a bathroom._

Public washrooms where foreign to me. Where are they? Who can use them? Even with my knowledge of the outside world via excessive television, I still wasn't sure. They seemed to appear out of nowhere on TV. Consequently, the next half hour consisted of quite a bit of wandering and increased discomfort. I managed to embarrass myself once more by almost walking into a door of a shop just being opened. And it had to be by a couple of blonde, shorts-so-short-they're-practically-underwear clad sluts, who giggled nastily as I apologized. I wanted to punch them.

Eventually, I was in a more town-ish looking area away from the beach. I started to relax a little, seeing a bunch of houses and a wide opened field with a playground. But by now I was doing a pee dance. I was just by the playground, ready to give up and find bushes at any moment when I saw it. Something familiar, unintimidating.

A library.

Of course, it was nothing like Mineral Town's library. The building was about four times the size, for one, and it had actual people in it. But big, wall sized windows showed stacks of books, and couches for reading on. Best of all? Even from a distance, I could make out a sign depicting a little stick man and woman. Success.

The bathrooms were right at the front entry hall of the building. It felt great to be able to walk normally again. My relief was short lived. As I dug around for a change of clothes, I realized something.

_Shit._

I, being the idiotic person that I am, had only packed _one pair of shorts. _And I'm on freaking _coastal California. _And it gets worse. In my frantic packing job, the pair I had grabbed were a pair of insanely short cut-offs. Ones I had declared ruined after snipping off too much of the legs of an old pair of jeans. Groaning, I slipped them on, my distaste increasing when they only came about two inches off my crotch.

But I had no choice. I stuffed my hoodie in my bag, fished out my flip flops, and left the stall. I stopped to wash my hands and look in the mirror. A girl with short-shorts, enormous sunglasses, and a grumpy face greeted me. _Well, don't I just look like a regular city slut, now don't I?_

I excited the bathroom, trying hard not too tug at the bottoms of my shorts. I felt really... exposed.

_Well, since I'm in a library, center of information, I must as well try to learn something about navigating this city._

It was hard to resist going to browse through all the books they had. There had to be at five times more here than in Mineral Town. There was an entire wall of teen books, filled with those romantic comedy novels I adore. But I didn't have a library card, and couldn't spend all day reading. What I needed was a librarian. I, being mentally challenged, immediately started to search for someone who resembled Mary.

It took about thirty seconds for me to realize the flaw in this plan.

I figured my best bet would to be asking some random person, in the small chance that they were a librarian or knew where I could find one. I went for the oh-so-cliché choice, a middle aged woman in glasses reading at a table.

"Excuse me," I asked in my most polite tone. "Do you know where I could find a librarian?"

The woman looked up at me, blinking as she registered my question. "Um," she said unsurely. "You could try the information desk." She pointed. There was a big, round desk in the center of the library. _And how did I miss that...?_

"Alright, uh, thanks."

The librarian was pretty much the opposite of Mary. Tall, blonde, free of stereotypical reading glasses. She gave me a wide smile when I approached the desk she was parked behind. "Hello!" she said cheerfully. A little too cheerfully for my liking. "How may I help you?"

"Well," I said, a little put off by her overly happy attitude. "I'm kinda having issues getting around, and I was hoping there was some sort of tourist map I could get, or maybe just directions?" _Directions to where, May? Idiot._

The woman smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, we don't have any tourist maps, and I'm afraid I don't know the area well to enough to give you direction anywhere. I haven't lived here for very long." Noticing my look of frustration, she added, "But perhaps I could help you find a book with a map in it, or you could use a computer?"

I froze.

_A...computer?_

* * *

"Could you be quiet, please?" the person next to me hissed irritably.

"Sorry." I said, trying to contain my laughter. They continued to glare at me, like they had been for the past while. "I won't bother you again." I said in an overly sweet tone. The turned back to their computer, and I adjusted my headphones and concentrated on the screen in front of me.

The internet is, by the far, the most amazing thing ever invented.

You can find _anything_ on there. It's crazy. Any information in existence, music, games, and best of all; videos. Did you know you can find pretty much any TV show on this site called YouTube? They may be split into parts, but who cares? It's awesome. By the time the grumpy person next to me had told e to shut up, I had watched about three episodes of Friends. (Who doesn't laugh out loud at Joey's hilarious faces?)

Okay, I know what you're thinking. _Wasn't she supposed to find a map and continue the search for Stu? _Yes, I was. But honestly? I had never been on a computer in my whole life, and suddenly, here was a chance to try it. The peppy librarian had gotten me all set up, given me a pair of headphones in case I wanted to listen to audio, and parked me in front of a sleek black PC. How could I not go nuts with Google?

I just happened to realize at that moment how stupid I was being when I squinted at the tiny clock in the corner of the screen. It read 4:32. I actually leaned back in surprise. I had been there for almost _four hours._ A wave of panic hit me. I had made no progress in my search and had nowhere to go if I failed today. The thought of staying a hotel alone scared the crap out of me. I had to find him. _Today._

Yes, I know how unlikely it was. But I had to try.

I pulled the headphones from my ears and did what I was supposed to do originally; find a map. I was able to locate one quickly through the wondrous power of Google. With a little help from the blonde librarian, whom I was beginning to grow fond of, I printed it out. Grabbing my bag and bidding her and the computer goodbye, I exited the library.

Once outside, I relaxed slightly. The sun was still blaring, with no signs of it beginning to grow dark out. I slipped my sunglasses back on. I still had time. _Alright,_ I thought to myself. _No distractions this time._

But alas, there was no need. I couldn't have taken more than six steps out the door when I saw it; the most amazing, beautiful, most relieving sights to ever meet my eyes.

Stu, standing across the street in the park.

It was probably the most unlikely, unbelievable, and unrealistic sight, also.

Let me tell you, at first, I was in major shock. I stopped mid step and stared. _This is too convenient, _I though suspiciously. _That can't be him._ But it was. There was no mistaking it. That was Stu Parker, standing about twenty feet away from me, in Bermuda shorts and sunglasses looking absolutely adorable. He was looking around, but he didn't seem to have noticed me.

So I did the most logical thing possible.

Well, maybe not logical. But certainly May-like. Which meant stupid and not well thought out.

I sprinted across the street and threw my arms around him.

Would've been really awkward if it was some random stranger. But it wasn't. It was definitely Stu. Right before I launched myself at him, a small, "May? What are you-" escaped. The rest was cut off by my bone crushing hug. I clung to him like my life depended on it. A few seconds later, I smashed my mouth into his. It wasn't even a good kiss, mostly clashing teeth, but I didn't care. It felt like I hadn't seen him in years, when in reality it was one day.

"Well," said Stu when I had removed my mouth from his and buried my face in his t-shirt. "That was not the greeting I was expecting when I next saw you."

This statement snapped me back to reality. Remembering how furious I was with him, I immediately detached myself, drew back my arm, and punched him in the stomach. "Idiot!" I yelled, loud enough that a nearby woman walking her dog looked over, alarmed. "You are _such_ an idiot!"

Stu recoiled, but I moved with him, delivering a kick to his shin. "Ow! May, stop it!" he held out an arm to try and defend himself. I ignored it. I was _pissed._ All the anger that had seemed to fade away since I got here had now returned in the form of violence.

"You're...an...idiot!" I yelled, punctuating each word with a blow. His protests were lost as I screamed explicits, disturbing many people in the park. Finally, I reached up, grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled Stu's face level to mine. His gray eyes were distressed. "You, Stu Parker, have to be the stupidest person on the planet!" Then I released him and turned my back.

People stared at us while I fumed, until Stu broke the silence. "May," he said softly, sounding pained. _As he should be. _"I'm really sorry, but I don't really understand why you're so angry..."

For some reason, this only made me madder. I spun around, raising my hand to deliver a good hard slap to his handsome face... but I was stopped. Stu grabbed that wrist and the other, pinning them both to my sides. I struggled to free myself, but to no avail. "That's enough," Stu said, trying to sound firm, but kinda failing. "Stop abusing me and tell me what the problem is! Please." He added when he saw the look on my face.

I was tempted to kick him where it hurt, but I figured that would be going too far. I instead took a deep breath and tried to contain myself. "Did you not think to maybe _check_ that I had left Mineral Town before hopping the god damn shipment boat?" I growled. "Did you?"

Stu looked confused. His grip on me loosened, so I shook him off. "What...what are you talking about?"

"I never left Mineral Town, you stupid jerk!" I yelled, and he retreated in fear that I would start beating on him again. "I was going to, but then I changed my mind, and when I came to talk to you, you were gone!"

"No," Stu said, clearly still puzzled and in very much in denial. "I checked. I checked your house, I talked to your grandpa. Zack's boat was gone!"

"Yeah, but I wasn't on it!" I said, frustrated. "You were too stupid to realize he was with a damn tourist and I was at our Goddess Pond! God damnit, Stu!"

For the first time, some anger showed on Stu's face. "Hey," he snapped. "Don't try to blame this on me. It's your fault for trying to leave in the first place!"

"My fault?" I screeched, pointing a finger at my own chest. More frightened pedestrians. "I would never wanted to leave if it weren't for you!"

"What, one fight and you take off?"

"It's not that simple! You were being _awful_!"

"_You_ were being a _child_!"

"You told me to get out!"

"I meant get out of my face, not get out of my life!" He yelled in my face; we had gotten quite close now without even realizing. As always, I won the stare down. Stu turned, letting out an angry sigh and held a hand to his forehead. "I came after you, didn't I?" he said, his tone significantly softer. "The last thing I wanted was for you to leave."

His words had an effect on me, as per usual. I could feel myself calming down and softening towards him quickly. "I didn't want to leave, either." I said quietly.

"Then why were you going to?" he asked, spinning around to face me again. "Why were you going to leave me, May?"

A lump rose to my throat. "Because," I managed to choke out. "I was angry. And scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of...of..." Tears were threatening to drip down my face. Ugh. How humiliating. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

"It's because you hadn't been talking to me for like four days and I thought you were freaking _suicidal_ and suddenly you were talking to me but it was about all this serious stuff and combined with the fact that Grandpa had been talking about marriage which I was _so_ freaked out by and then you were mad at me and I was just scared, okay!" My last words of babbling were lost on a sob.

All at once, he was there, arms around me. I sobbed freely into his t-shirt. "I'm here May, it's alright." He murmured into my hair.

Major déjà vu.

I clung to him until I felt my tears drying up. And yes, this was still in the middle of a sidewalk in Santa Rhea, in case you were wondering. When I pulled back, a dark patch the size of a lake remained on his shirt. "I'm sorry." I said.

"Me too."

I put my hands on either side of his face and pressed my lips against his. It was way better than our teeth-clashing kiss a few minutes ago. Kissing him still gave me cheesy butterflies in my stomach, and I didn't even feel awkward because of the fact we were in public. It was just me and Stu at the moment. When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against his. He smiled at me. _Say it, say it, say it..._After a few seconds hesitation, I whispered, "I love you."

It felt like a relief, was also a burden. I felt like saying it a thousand times over, but also screaming "No, I take it back!" right after. The latter even more so when he said,

"...What was that?"

_You little shit._

His tone was innocent, annoyingly so. "You heard me." I growled.

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did!" He was mocking me, and I hated him for it.

"Hey," said Stu, pulling back and holding his hands up defensively. "Not my fault you talked so quietly."

"Shut up!" I felt my face flush with anger and embarrassment. Stu_ knew_ I felt uncomfortable saying it. And he, acting like a child who annoyed everyone he came across, wanted to make me as awkward as possible. "You're...you're stupid!"

"Real mature, May."

"I LOVE YOU!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, right in his face. He recoiled, but then a satisfied smirk played across his lips. "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW, ASSHOLE?"

"Yes, I heard that."

"Good." I snapped.

He put his arms around me. My annoyance faded but didn't completely disappear. "You really piss me off sometimes, you know that?"

"Right back at cha, Mayflower." Stu said, kissing my forehead. "But I still love you too."

**A/N: This chapter has been pretty much done for about a month now, but my laptop crashed and I had to get a new one. The next chapter is like...two thirds done. My goal is to finish it before the end of July. **

**Maybe August.**

**...I'm awful at goal setting.**


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